Connecting the Community; 3008; Special edition: Oil Spill on the Gulf Coast

as my greatest fear is that if they can't plug a hole if you will and stop it stop the bleeding of the oil now and we have a situation that we could be dealing with for months and months and it you know they always say emergency response you wanna be prepared for the worst but hope for the best why we need to prepare for the worst now we have over seven hundred miles of coast in florida just on the gulf coast along the atlantic we get any florida governor charlie crist expressing that concern shared by millions along the gulf coast tonight oil continues pouring into the waters at the rate of about five thousand gallons are five thousand barrels a day a result of an explosion that tore apart the deepwater horizon on april twentieth giant concrete containment dome is at the scene right now and we should know soon not maybe tonight that in the next day or so whether works

lloyd garrison this is a special one hour live edition of acting the community here on wi sorry tv pbs for the gulf coast are goal tonight is to bring you the latest information and trying to get answers something that's been in short supply at saint joining us this evening we abhor clear of the south carolina she is bp use it regional director for government and public affairs welcome to our program darrell boudreaux assistant director of the florida department of environmental protection report an agency in this discussion from okaloosa county we have matt gates' house district force newly elected representative and he also is bruni emanuel chairman of programs seven services for brace a volunteer organization that has a lot to do with preparing for disasters helping people and gordon goodwin is journalist santa rosa county commissioner was representing the uk county's emergency

management team as well a homeland security chief janet the palatine ill is in the area we'll be hearing from her that we asked mother guest will be also join us but they didn't do as a special connecting tonight talking about that oil in the gulf of mexico do we know tonight is it as a situation any better hope well i think that that the flow continues which is a move the bad news the good news is that tim is ready for story has staged its outlook often ready to get in the water and heavily will know how well it's working here in the next couple days material norrell is hit more to be just right ok we got actually got those beaches of pickers out right now starting from elbow stay lined with boarded up through pensacola beach pier and starting tomorrow a new frontier heading east with a baseline assessment a nag at of special concern broke loose in santa rosa county waterfront said he'd been watching that anyone out there one onion way but i think we have to answer the fundamental question as the state of florida

and that's his ultimate responsible for the protection of our citizens is a british petroleum reserve the state of florida and i definitively believe that it's for his responsibility to step forward and make sure that were well prepared know you asked the first question what's gotten better i think what's gotten better is that we've de centralized some of the authority to make decisions to local governments so that emergency operation centers can start directly engaging with vendors and making sure that sensitive environmental areas are bloomed and walled off we've also done a far better job in the last twenty four hours even in making sure that innovative solutions that can help alleviate the problems that may come are getting to the top of the chancellor they can be accidental and we've had people who've the email us we had invited questions to tell you a story tonight for those forums of people have offered some fairly innovative solutions are ways to sop up the oil will try get to those questions along that for small gordon then from santa rosa calif thought do a little bit i watch or read on the situation as of this moment well there's i think room

for some optimism now another has him and maybe last week that when the great releases or beautiful girl or not and in effect the test free the promise is right around the corner i been fairly agitated all week at a daylong better mood tonight i have been unless you're four days so hopefully the dome works over there it would have a flow shut off and we do about that as the cleanup but also we can all enjoy it now have to be stressed out and their root revel with anxiety and there are indeed so few people are positive points to be made tonight the fact that there's no oil here in the floor the beaches the fishing boats are still going out to be out motels their hotels a tourist businesses are still open although there's concern about cancellations aunt and so there are some things that are happening that that are are fairly positive cancellations ocean and we have opportunity lost was really difficult measures things on snl and a farmer avenue universe is the eldest tackle that problem because of this area but we've been stolen panama city was well on the rebound this is our

year to recover and our big tax collectors a good year last year expecting to have a really good year this year we had noted that the reward waiting longer to make reservations our been our curious what can happen really make those reservations a heavily catholic adoption a lot ryan wasn't going to cost the area one of the things that when the serious hit by a hurricane which would be almost nice in comparison to this because you can know what you've got with hurricane but people really come on they want to help they want a volunteer and then that's for brianna know comes in with praise how many different ways are people helping voluntarily well last weekend we had an almost seventeen hundred volunteers put in almost six thousand hours of volunteer time at our two sites and now that the volunteer opportunities or burn up up a bit dicey because we don't know what's going to happen if if the slick makes landfall then people need to be trained for you know and hazardous material kind of handling and

that's a whole different well it was all volunteer and people going out just getting debris off the beaches okay we'll come back to that we did invite people are sending emails and someone up brian sent an email and he asked a question about this very thing why do any and all the efforts by joe sanderson have to be blessed by bp florida department of environmental protection us coast guard cetera for a simple no brainer like picking up beach job before the oil gets here and that seems like a fair enough question why why why would they need clearance from environmental protection to do something like that it gets down to there are some unforeseen consequences that can happen is life right now we've got several examples of people saying let's move the dirt roads and out of the way though it does get same bottle but this is also the season for sea turtles been asking insurers to the nest and so we don't want to do as creative another problem we're trying to solve you know the first problem and so i think it's more of a non natural blessing it but it's making sure that was being

done is not creating another prawn that women are that person may not be aware of that if i could just go back to the volunteering at another interesting question we've had come in was kids one how does their community were seen a chrome out of our network has communities involved in citizenship and the kids were frustrate so again they call two nights ago from a band record pace high school wanna know how can i get these kids and all the really the really looked for something sweet we've actually talked with lucy at the other nineteen of the great idea the message needs to get out to the folks what they can do and what to look for and so were no you know would help get funneled information to the kids let them use their facebook and their networking skills to get the information out ok add one second to lead libya before that we are so we were at a meeting the other day you were there to court you're actually meeting a pensacola beach there are hundreds of people at the church there it's built the hold at three hundred look at the people are standing in line or waiting for a chance to talk to

somebody's interim bp representatives there darrell you were there others gordon good and they're trying to act and everybody has a million questions that they want answers to but bob hope do you have any more answers tonight were people about their questions what causes what's all that there's just hundreds of questions anymore answers tonight than he did a few days ago about the wasn't aware fours are all very good question so needed it there's people that are going to need to address those are really focused right now is stopping bleeding enough the most important thing and there's going to be time and there will be acts concerted effort to sit down and find out what happened from a technological standpoint what should've been done differently what could be done differently in the peach you're on that right now we're focused on stopping the bleeding cleaning up the mast and they will be able to sit down and how to dress and i know that that that frustrates people not to be able to point their finger a specific cause right now that there will be time to get to that once once

we start the immediate problem which is now i know your grip which on the spot here you guys are all dealing with with the pianist that are you satisfied with the answers that you're getting from your roles as leaders in the community and an expert in various fields you think that you're getting what you need from bp not an interesting signs it may be changing today improving but i think that we have to meet people and you season fly around their plans and are worried about that with it lost touch with people in the street to people on contact by saying look out not gotten the job that i was promised for the summer and were not talk about college his report accused of my age and the fifties and talking to people who have a son having a forty hour week that may come back to ten hours i have young families a nice implicated by on towers end of medical claims line earlier in the week they were told here's your claim number in and i just drove me back to seven to ten days will that's changed as of today there's a hotline and there's supposed to be some type of love you are either interim funding to help those folks

but frankly michael the number earlier today they follow gary cole was put on hold as a secretary to file a title and she and her staff call with a tool to wear a coat and went right through somewhat frustrated with the response that the the real folks that are being hurt by this anticipation of that the landfall of the shia in the war what mike and that's what they're not getting relief those folks under ten days is an attorney without a pitcher but i don't know i think the tobacco commission to this point our community survives on a ninety day season we it's critically important to us to have an influx of tourists and visitors and cash that comes in with them to keep everyone afloat and that's what sustains folks throughout the entire year and so this is just such an economically critical time and though we don't see tar balls rolling up on the beach or will she people are still experiencing significant economic loss now and for the reasons i've asked governor crist to expedite some of ford's disaster loan programs to make sure that resources can be available now for those businesses to meet payroll to keep there charter boat running to keep their

employees then so that they can make their mortgage payments and i'll go into foreclosures and so we hope to see activity there there's also federal loan programs we're working our congressional delegation to make sure that the small business administration bridges of aids here in northwest florida as a governor crist asked for a fifty billion dollars in emergency aid from president obama today and i'm wife and her response to that i'm sure that the federal government will come through with lots of made but it's all going to fall back they're already sending these bills over the pr and just address a couple the concerns that they all have raised and we know that some of the rape that hasn't gone as quickly as we would have like forty you i am however at and please tip or just waited two nights ago in an anti have spoken with <unk> her as a last night we're hearing some complaints as i'm concerned the end had been able to do a lot of those on the five goals we've asked the insurance adjusters to expand the number of people that are they are demand there's the claim calls we've requested that they create an online

system so that people can file their claims online instead of having to have a whole time during the busier times of the day we have a lead a gesture on the ground in florida now and five people currently you're down in the county's dealing with people in dealing with their claims and more that are going to be here to do with people's issues and media lee i'm i asked hassan announcement today that bp had had committed to very quick payment on those claims as quickly as they'd been as stevie as quickly as they're praying and an sat is i mean a few days every week there were probably i think it's really going to depend on the type of claim that i think i mean in most cases a few days and one all tickets will suffer the decision of the two million dollars which was previously twenty five billion dollars given thwarted by bp that is to cover operational or capital cost and for example samara the county has requested additional going to go across the three mile bridge the five sites british are somewhat

grisly i can bridge unless the call center in the county in the neighborhood of six with a little over six million dollars a month which is twelve percent of aria la pretty much escambia county is as traditional going to go in front of this that school class to try stop that the wolverine getting into our bases to the cynical similar seven million at twenty five million or italy was designated for sixteen calves it's pretty easy to see that is not to go very far and have to know a lot more tomorrow given the presentation that is necessary we feel necessary to protect our days are stories and greatest fire line so to speak and there were about six million or six million dollars a month and bp will reimburse in the future i don't think our taxpayers at a standstill for that i think they're to see that as another opportunity for the taxpayers to bail out a large corporation to bankroll this recovery to take their probably make that there's enough time or shrinking budgets are are a fact of life we can barely manage that the regular warner <unk> responsible adult literary brat response to what they say bp has committed to clean this mess up and to see it through to the very end and to address the

claims and we're here to work with you as much as we can as quickly as we can to try to address race does approve it if i can and i also we got on the street with our of pee wee this week we've asked for an environmental console and i'm sure with us because we have no need for mr malcolm's all related to the oil spill were wrapped up front the money are these informal consults and then at some point in the future seek reimbursement from bp bp an income of forty billion dollars billion with a b the last quarterly earnings report was four billion dollars while our santa rosa northwest for taxpayers expected to bankroll this operation likely to say that their that there you that they're that back to look for a while until you get the checks crackdown is i would say they were working as quickly as we can to working with him and working with the epa working with the coast guard to address an assassin before to make sure that people may tell us quickly twenty five million twenty five million over started in and do what we got some relief ok what would you would concede guess that i hope will bear with bp that no

matter how it was fall how it happens human error mechanical flaw where rap and bp was not prepared for anything like this there's a difference between being prepared and an interest in having a plan that starts every week had a plant out and they really would be expecting something or this or current that is a difference between having a contingency plan in place which we did and an expecting something like this something of this magnitude seven as horrible as just devastated all of us to be here on the table tennis writing girl drove was so deeply i asked question about earlier about we get any answers that you need on and from the front from bp and you said what but i think we are we are working for what we gather we learn how many people are staying and say hey i'll be peas really do a job here and i wanted somebody says that i wanna be fair and given the chance right it it a couple quick

examples we send of them we monday today oakland county them under a thursday thank you we had a demonstration one counted it isn't hey dude get the wallet and then sopping up basically an iphone go far that night to say could they use as a fuel source and found out that the way they're burner story would be they couldn't get the they into the burr safely having said that we don't know it an email yesterday for an ip sign that they couldn't they have the right type of verner they could use that but they wanted an analysis of the all thats out there to see if they burned out all your work of missions were created and saw vast you know bp this afternoon to giving that date and it's coming as i understand ok so we got the nastiest on the maternal side for the dispersants i've got those probably

within twelve hours we ask and so i mean i have a local level on getting the answers that i'm asking for so i guess as much because we are we seeing a boom so that their phobia hundred what i know how hundred hundred mile that thousand thousands of the bones that are being opposition around northwest florida are these things are out how well do they work or booms a good answers at this part of the answer is that part of the answer on it is really highly whether and if you've got a calm day low wins they're effective but if you start getting you know one to two foot seas and they're starting a rock up and then he got wind pushing a remarkably effective that's also when the when the proms one keeper the wall outlets force possible but where you can do it is inside the pass is where the big of the calmer winds newcomer waves so really it's you need to have in there because you never know when the law if the walls going to get here but you

wanna have been in place ready to go ready to be deployed in a way gets here if the conditions are right in a war is the weather still playing out on the slide of the beaches here as it working in our favorites as a sort of catalyst for more because the same water that is keeping the sheen plume far from shore is also have an effect a spreadsheet and plume to make a portrait so more areas may feel exactly may feel it later they feel they feel it to lower degree already backed one concern's commission been had and i think it's a really important allies and that is that there seems to be a structural difference in how we're dealing with this disaster and i was dealt with disasters in the past we're used to hurricanes where local emergency operation centers and local counties have the authority to make decisions or have the resources to make them and it can kind of be a bottom up approach to problem solving were even block by block neighborhood by neighborhood people can get answers in organizing get together i think what's so frustrating to many people that

i've talked to them on a commission and goodness talked to is that this seems to be a top down system where most decisions are made and no deal and that we're consulting with mobility helping resources trickle down so i think that the best way to shatter that structural deficiency is to get more resources at the local level and i really don't think i should be the challenge that expand so hopefully our governor the sectarian bp who's like saws done a great job communicating with folks making sure that local residents are aware of that candidly of what challenges exist if we can shake loose those resources immobile in tallahassee and get them down to the local level i think people will be as frustrated as the decisions a because for them but don't you think doesn't someone ultimately have to be at the top there has to be some decision maker made that they all that they had quote right now small p all right that's where the big battle is being led from that but you have to have somebody someplace who say and this is what we're going to do and this is how we're going to do it you get hundred county commissioners right around the gulf coast try to make these

decisions what of course the coast guard run pointed make sure that everything is done in a strategic way so that we're not working against one another but the challenge the frustration that commitment and feels that the local government officials feel a local loose accounting santa rosa county is that what we want to get thrown in front of a key about you or estuary or pass we'll have to wait for moby all to blast that decision we had the resources the contract and forty in the vendor lists were ready to get to work and the good thing about northwest florida is we've been through some challenges before it is not as if we're not battle tested we know how to work together neighbor to neighbor block the black community to community great cooperation among the county's but without the resources without the authority to make those decisions i think will continue to be frustrated and certainly it's the local legislative delegations job it's our public aisha to make sure that when there are resources in tallahassee they make their way to santa rosa county oakland county standing we invited people to send their email their questions others a look by the way of where this site

or the darker sections are where the head deeper concentrations of the oil and there you can see these and other the latest from are on our website at usaid the us ari dot org will spill and all the connections to the people who are here tonight as well as people to send our questions and one of them wanted to know everyone seems to concentrate on surface oil what about oil odd that had been dispersed by chemicals it's still oil or some other hazardous chemical will ease and her chemically dispersed wooly wooly and are concentrations that will cause a negative impacts to wildlife that's not the right now are focused on the wall in that we may hit the shores are preparing for that the ntsb has jesus juarez we asked for was to can say what chemicals are in there and what could we get asked neurologist what kind of impact could be really

working with bp will end yes this wildlife in the other biological way to believe that that with those answers then what i asked that very question to deeply secretary mike sole and here's the answer he gave me he said that when we are out at sea at the incidents like and moving those dispersants not the surface of the ocean but down with a well as actually spreading oil out into the water it's having a significantly better effect at moving that oil through the water column as opposed to having it all coagulate the top and so that's a good thing if we can keep keep it out at sea of course it's never a good thing to be injecting chemicals into the ocean of any kind but all the smart folks to do this with scientists and biologists insect or so as a biologist scene indicated that is the best way to mitigate any environmental impact on shore is to spread those points to the water called for roberts from a safety standpoint bp is working closely with the coast guard but also with the epa and bp to do water water monitoring air monitoring intend to try to be as cautious in environmentally sensitive about those treatments as we

possibly a microbiologist from hugo the us said that the oil the grade of oil that comes out of the gulf of mexico the light sweet crude as it's called has the advantage of being rapidly evaporated and that the ethics of maybe half of the oil that's been released so far have already been evaporated into the atmosphere is as sound plausible reasonable scientific resounding you will sell and so we know that over a thousand barrels a day right now are being burned off and so that can be assisted by the type of carcinogens that are more easily evaporated but that was a lot of weather dependent you would say get burning you got the booms got the dispersants there's a lot of stuff being thrown at this art in the in past spills how these things worked to mitigate the disastrous really make a really big difference and obviously a

lot of that their success depends on things like weather conditions and the depth of that and the snow that book everything we can to address this and try to keep it as much as they can away from the shore we had a viewer who wanted to know were talking about volunteer efforts in our costs which around here a little bit but that someone who is a teacher says there are age limit for volunteers to help with the cleanup by of middle school students in my classroom and they want to help in some manner berea of woody's we tell them well i think there'll have a great idea to build and get them to get the word out about the truth about what's going on because it's there has been this information in this understanding but in general as far as people signing up to be trained to do the bio remediation or those kinds of things there's an eighteen year your minimum lynn that we're towards the players summer vacation here that are going to come volunteer records the training of the issues is come up above the fray fact yesterday though we we were assured on

monday that though bp will be our locally and i we had three crews working on the garbage from north carolina yesterday so when cleaning of a beach or the clean by volunteers prickly and on saturday and sunday seem to be like a commander lack of unified command and analysis but these folks and ending in our own within the county needed training and the volunteers in their outlook and get paid that is what they love that the sale of the golf they won't be involved in the way the camera without training not going to be allowed to do it is very frustrating people missouri as we know the very generous but they lose your frankly which devastated image of stability we need to help them would only the patronizing with the silliest as we've had over the last few weeks we need to help them and then anytime anybody was help themselves when you know you're working for the atf isn't hiring locally but we are working to hire locally and then the other people that were on the ground to date with the first rounds of the vessels of opportunity program which is hiring that enters vessel

owners to help with the bidding process and that will continue and in addition for the cleanup effort as those years as opportunities become necessary we've been somewhat frustrated commissioner with them with a bunch of strange situation two and to some degree our hands have been tied or breaking through some barriers and hoping to be able to have some training programs that are necessary to get volunteers out ready to go out there and there are you know as we had over three thousand people standing while they long known for on tuesday afternoon compete for five hundred jobs down with their workforce astros who has just been offered twice in pensacola once a century those votes they go home that evening in that here or the us are leaving and you're about to cruise three crews sixty people from north carolina taking jobs taking my leave is continually this economy we have folks right here all ready to go ready to work in the time it took a stand in line to fill out the application i couldn't train put to work as a volunteer nichols lives led they were in line all day and said that most of those sites work a different well a quick question about dr about the

training that's needed help me out here we're talking about oil it might come might come ashore why how much training do you need we're not talking about something that could explode in your hand we're talking about paul well i had a natural occurring substance what was the danger that people have to be trained against i'm sure some really good answer to that would be no right well no i was going to you know i'm not an expert like there was four years compositions and you certainly know more about that and i hope i have not been through the four hour training course and understand it would be several different layers of dryly but from when my colleagues at that bracelet going through that for our training which she came back and talked about an issue that question is the toxicity of the substance says such that we do not want to get it on your heads the need for the hazmat suits and all that to be able to be out there to deal with it you can just

pick out that that that oil soaked birds and take it in a plastic bag or whatever that bag will have to be destroyed if you can't be touching the stuff is what i was told and i haven't like is that i've been through training myself with us grows report was reported in a second mr burns i have photographs of birds and lightly covered up was a supplicant the classic that's it imposes will do recently i don't have a hard time i understand your question and it was so tough about this was a difficult what was that was a sign to the complexity here they're about about a natural substance i'm like we're coming up on the beach and getting rid of it i catch all the time when i checked the oil in my car ride is that a danger of my day during my life you actually have immune to this petroleum and in control when there's been saying is just one example of a chemical it's in a patrol and pricing gas as unknown universe and and that's not to say if you get gas on you you're going to get cancer but there is a concern there

and so when people start working with these chemicals there are different layers of classes that you go through to learn about the personal protection equipment how to handle contamination appropriately selected don't endanger yourself or others as i understand it two to be on the cleanup project of the forty hour has whopper crying which is fairly standard for anyone that is exposed to chemicals at any point like if you were for tv if youre hazardous waste inspector you go through four er has walked training once you had that there's a refresher classes every year that begets innovate our fresher twenty four hours but what that designed to do is to make sure that that that that we wanted they're in danger or cells by you know handling something appropriately occasionally we'd get on it absolutely but these people be out there you know for six eight hours a day seven days a week former juvenile and it's in the process to clarify understand how frustrating it

must've been to people in syriza to see that and and and dealing with other they're dealing with right now that just must've seemed like a slap in the face that per the command orders that we received to send those trees out all of those people have to be certified with the house opera training video mentioned and so it wasn't something where we could go and say we need twenty people about here come out and do this and and i wish that there had been the case i wish we were in a different scenario there but we were quite happy with that that specific chinese recovery of over a dead bird with was an suv that had has more trainers are liquid able to do that that was not one comment we have wi fi hold on hope lanier thanks very much worth come back in just a moment but mr gooden thanks for being here with us on this is done he was sorry pbs for the gulf coast power talking tonight on a special connection show about the oil that's floating around out there in the gulf where they're going to land it sits among it at the beach and out of louisiana are the barrier islands earlier today about that we work in at a news conference at any s

pensacola just a while ago when where we heard from this nation's secretary of homeland security where for now a covered them is posed are moving into place my understanding is not today tomorrow and we should know by the end of the weekend whether it's successful or not but our plan to continue our work continues unabated it even though that that movement is going on i don't know whether that started under the water are quite yet they have started drilling a relief well and of course the coffer dam is only a stopgap measure designed to contain the spill of oil until i'd actually welcome ej world and that drilling has already begun we announced a ten day emergency fish cloture all of the

us acted parts of the gulf and that was to send a signal to the american public that the seafood that is still being harvested from the remaining parts of the gulf it's really the majority of the gulf and the impacted area still in a minute but the minority part of the gulf region but that whatever seafood is being harvested is in fact safe to consume whether it's on which stores your supermarket shelves or the restaurants and that our utmost the priority is protecting the health and safety of the american consuming public or this is the scene at la's pensacola there allegheny hear the staging area where loans are thousands and thousands of vietnam and other equipment are being gathered to be used against the oil spill it's still pouring out of the bottom of the gulf of mexico about seventy miles south of louisiana five

thousand barrels a day continue to come up from the underground and that we should be hearing we hold for the next day or so so whether that coffer dam that the secretary just referred to is i'm actually going to do the trick and of that giant wobble woehrle is still floating around out there in the gulf with some one hundred ton containment structure that is making its way out there is on the way down now but we've had our guest tonight though we have two more guess we've added to our rundown in addition to our bp representative the department of our environmental protection in tallahassee and state representative matt gates we welcome ought to our program our faces that are probably pretty well known to interview a grover robinson escambia county commissioner and his district includes that santa rosa beach area and even out there was a good deal of time watching talking to people i know and that

we can is development director for the santa rosa island authority we know there's an audience with a look inside keith wilkins well welcome keith wilkins i got it i thought why i thought you were a familiar face and i just read what's your archive that i welcome to both of you at any late news from your factory well they've offered a little good news last couple of days as far as our progress goes but the various latest news is a state the county did begin to point to david void about insights and mostly santa rosa sound and were re back in the water to mark or moribund robertson yes wool again i appreciated the opportunity here we only barges like or buy elsewhere trying to get through these things and i feel more confident i can say this this week and we did last week we're learning a lot of things that we didn't know about all we had a fairly steep learning curve and i but i believe local government

is coming days is rising to the occasion and been a learning apply and implement quickly on the job and so i'm encouraged by the things we're able to do learn more understand more income or call from what we're doing so those things i think that need to be put out there obviously this continues to be a big challenge for us and we continue to work with that i think so that god didn't just listened on radios i came appears more commission me and he made the comments of the globe mr gooden it indicated from us air as the county's wells those that that instigates an indicator from okaloosa long can hear the same things that are more laws came to cali another is the challenge of it feeling like a top down mentality and we've been working for that but those things in the communication could he get better or better this week though we were last week and i think will continue to prove i asked where's your goodness he was satisfied that he was getting the answers you need a day end up in a prompt a role that's soar away from the pri what he said you know i think the challenge is is is almost the answers when i'm getting our i don't know and again

that's what we were working through sort of the best we can to implement a strategy that we think will workin along those lines i'm glad to say that we should've five commandos has approved many of the things we'd done some of those were still working on getting improvement on for approval and so we continue to do that but overall i think we're making progress in him is in his in his issues on of keith is any comets he liked to make legislative with roars of communication open discussions about heard a lot of frustration in the community is a lot a frustration work with counties that frustration within the coast guard and all levels this is something that is his pack stuffing everyone's abilities to to respond so i don't think one thing really embody we're out of difficulties contain people must out with this issue to invest in all the data into one place a week and without a steady income or an extensive invasive it's a challenge it he talked about the other problems that the at the official level and as a

lot of import stuff going on arabic a lot of people are fisherman that people love the environmental law of the sea turtles and dolphins valley oh things are that could be affected by this end and a beginning at other answers for them we are the war ii as well i don't know was that i'm sure it is lloyd and you know we are familiar with the hurricane context where for the most part other than loss of life there's nothing that can be fixed with money when buildings are blown down when beach nourishment is needed more resources can fix those things but your question points out the very real fact that if oil enters our bodies in estuaries and it gets passed booms as a result of bad weather impacts those ecosystems that something that money can't fix it we could have serious species impact that not only damages the ecological diversity of our community but also has a very real economic impact on the fisheries that we rely on and so that's something that we pray doesn't happen we hope that our preparation does is good a job as we can do to mitigate that

as you said a poll of us now are praying and hoping for a hundred ton down to be able to successfully cap a well a mile and the ocean there are so many there actually different aspects and possible impacts from the uk from the soil or we won't hardly know what to worry about first all toward the comet that we just made and i think is the challenge that were were all saint even with its still seventy eighty miles out to shore how we talk about this today with him yesterday with a very general bill mccollum in the day with the cfo alex sink being here that we are socially and economic purgatory sort of we're we're hitting the gaming hit the peak season for all those from a tourism standpoint what we depend on a northwest florida for those for those jobs in our economy that helps your tax base and a variety of other things here and again we're in a situation where the beaches are still open still nice war clean beaches right now but double nobody's

coming because they're by very fearful of what's out there we have endured some i said probably a billion dollars worth of negative press it can take a long time for us to work through this process and again so you sue even without even having any impact embargo yet we're standing tremendous economic impact i think the challenge is going to be an up or shared the same said that mr gates's doing along the state that we're not to get them to go in look at some key issues we have is hurting loan programs we need to start working on some of those things to help people that are that are basically on one surviving week to week month the month the media make payrolls and again that's something that we really need the peace help with is getting the money into those people other than those claims right now on that that's that's a desperate situation that we really need oxygen to be talking about as well i it's not just the embargo was certainly is hugely important and the economic side of it the human side of it is going to be just as vital and just as difficult as we work away for this and those lawyers for that that's a

bifurcated system there are federal sba loans that we ought to be eligible for in our businesses aren't able to access and are also state loan programs i've called on the governor of florida to immediately activated expand the state loan programs and then to call our congressional delegation to join me in doing so to access those federal dollars right now but that the point was made it rather well that the mainstream media has not been our friends and their reporting on this has had a very serious economic impact on our area that's why i've also called on the governor to immediately fund a program with visit florida so that we can get out the truth about the current conditions in the state of florida the state of florida still open our beaches are still safe or seafood are still wonderful the end were still very place to come and vacation and so visit florida is in the process of putting together a public relations planning media strategy they can go to those markets of people that generally vacation in northwest florida in the summer time

and asked bp to be a part of the funding source for that those marketing programmes and get the word out that were open for business elite he has an obligation to step in iran's a cough up some money for a program to kill people in other parts of the country without a doubt i think that that is definitely partaken in the past as far as could face as a result of the situation regardless of whether will has the speeches we've been talking with representative coli he was part of that town hall meeting the other night and are engaging conversations with her own as a possible well almost everybody has a concern about the oil and its impact on the economy on wildlife artist on on there's the whole the whole picture of life here on the gulf coast week we talk with some of them the other day is what they had to say obviously everybody's concern and first rubio has gone through a lot since ivan is a resilient community and we'll get through it it's distressing and it's a political vacuum

maureen like everyone is out more about people's lives their quality of life aquatic life on the beach the homeowners the businesses everyone that i am we do and try to keep confidence and family wants to come together and do this we can hear a lot of positive comments a year weird some negative is that a fear of where all the rain and we all want bp to be responsible for what is happening and i know that i tried to be i think it's clear based on this meeting that everyone is a lot more questions than answers and there's a lot of speculation and i think the important thing is that when i could overwhelm the sense of cynicism and negativity toward all have a better sense this information is revealed day by day week by week we don't really understand what we're dealing with and we all try to stay positive and optimistic that you really don't know what's going to happen those are cars we gather the other day at a healthy again at pensacola beach show up hundreds of people inside there if you'd like to see the whole thing go you're

sorry taped it as available our web site and if you watch it you get there though of the feeling or ronson i know you're there on how much frustration at anchor there is in this in the area i was there i felt the anger and i think there's there's one reason that we're seeing out of some of the anger i didn't come up and i think it's it's one the issues is there northwest florida of war as a whole has eyes is historically said you know what are our tourism our beaches are more important to us than drilling for many other states alabama mississippi louisiana texas in the gulf has made a decision that they think offshore drilling is is in as good bets for them to make that decision we we knew that service asian they they made but they've reaped the benefits of having war in their committee we have no benefit we week we get nothing from the war community here and we're about to be saddled with all the cost of that as with a lot of frustration and anger coming and i feel that and again as i said before you know we're dependent on bp we've got a lot of comments

they've said a lot of good things but i'm waiting to see the delivery to see the economic money come for her method the best thing they could do for us now is to show russia's money here begin to get in the hands of those individuals that need that we need at this moment but don't include drive down here for vacation that they benefit from the oil that comes from the gulf mexico will certainly again all while those things are connected that idea more things i think more important is i sure like to see more refineries you know i have yet to see were all dated in gasoline seem to be that they they've been running on the same direction these days so to say what's happening with oil begin a walk and they saw the war was marked the ballot does appear who knows where teams of being refined other number of things weren't have to consider as we look forward to what we do with our own tragedy me personally i died right i drive a prius i decided to get a three thousand gallon you know what i need to be more responsible about what i do and again those of decisions that we can all make individually but this is one that we didn't make this decision and this is being

dumped on us and i believe we're going to see the most severe economic impact from it because we do depend on tourism the number of questions emailed into dubie was sorry asked about their what future for drilling is in the gulf of mexico and dumped it sounds to me like it's there to be peace accident they pray will shot drilling in the gulf of mexico right after write off the map haven't a metal gates certainly lord oh the speed or the house representative the incoming speaker of the house representatives incoming senate president of both said it's a dead issue for me there are many people in the florida legislature at the time when then i'm in the legislature for months now but there were many who thought that before we just have a reflexive no position on drilling booms important value wait what technologies could do what opportunities there were that would be safe that would provide the economic value of drilling without the ecological cost or really the impact for military mission and now i think we have short

circuited the need for much of that research i think we can see that the some of the failsafe systems fail and that the result is overwhelming and that truly we are prepared for a spill of this disaster so i don't think this is the time to advance a specific political agenda i think this is the time to develop responses and make sure that we're clean safe and economically sound but the same time i wanted to be saying much drilling discussion for a legislature would come in time all again on the regular prison gates said this is not a time to be talking about the politics of the time the deal with the heat usually plenty of time to sit down and discuss policy and how the states in how the federal government for the right now we need to seal a hole in the bottom of the gulf and that's the most important thing a moment earlier well one of the persons act out this gold beach say that they think that's gold beetle come back it always does how many comebacks is pensacola beach half million and i think what we're going into juarez i said before i think every day that goes by the more conferences are billing

understand what we're dealing with more were happening i think while the challenges is very difficult life for us authorities your heads around this we're so used to hurricanes in our response to how we deal with hurricanes and it seems to be such an instant situation have come to learn that this is heading toward suggested that mean this is a marathon so it's gonna take a long time for us to get used to this i think the other part is is that we all envisioned alaska because when sound and i think we also all that is just just rules of black stuff just can't continue to come up but i think the reality of it is we same ol n and we also salsa jewish we're very small area with their lot what large metal wall we've got more i guess a significant role that keeps coming up with a very large areas dispersing it so you know again i think this is not going to be the death of pensacola beaches are going to be really hard for us to get over challenges yes but i gather that before i'm optimistic with a lot of the people in this community we know are good people

working as a nonprofit were overcome this but it sounds like though the big obstacle right now is the perception and the rest of the country that that florida is sorry is swap why at my ex sun belt these stipe of a disaster and i think that's what were enacted the message i appreciate the reason gates saying here that that's what would use look in the so don't get of that you know our web site you know bp the state run fl the us slash they get to add to the beach or a lawyer from her site you can track even track dear marjorie winning memoir called monetary affairs we have people on the beaches looking right now we're not in the best informants to get out members were working with accounts were working in the cities developing plans we have of women working with him accountable ways mantra plan had a hamlet if and when it gets here in foreign born it's not here we're still open for business he can still come here and while world

war you visit our beaches were working on plans and one obvious a month that anyone has seen that indicates floors can i have an oil slick you know there's a difference between an oil sheen thats about a millimeter thick an oil slick which is what we're familiar with seeing and prince wins so after exxon bodies were never going to have we don't think knock on wood there will select a northwest florida one of the things that we do need that folks seem to be on the lookout for as when they seek tar balls or tar mats that may be as big as your dining room table that start to float and those need to be immediately identified and reported the dp because if they are identified soon enough we can get skimmer boats out to pick them up and get them out of the way if they're not identify they collect sediment sand sea grass and they sink to the bottom and then they become horrible generators over time so if there is something that folks can do when they traversed the beach in the coming weeks in the coming months if you see the affects of the spill in the form of tar mats please report them right away because that's what will help us from long term viability states and you feel it's

more likely that we'll see that kind of impact on the beach here rather than the specter of big flaw was it cruel l e and a we still have a hole the bottom of the ocean that hasn't closed so i think it's inappropriate to say anything is completely off the table but based on the current flow the current projections and what's in the gulf of mexico right now there is no model and it's critical that folks know that there is no model that indicates that we're going to have oil slicks moving and waved by way of what we've seen in alaska or like macy and shake the chandelier islands in louisiana damage at that chandelier islands said that what we heard about that is it threatening the wildlife is there with what's the concern there were beer were murderous was brought before a left and ask you know what's going on over there in an event is going to come in is actually encouraging that the tar balls that they're saying they're actually they're staying on the surface they're there or that they already weathered and they've got like a

shell around them and then if you can get there to get that up here they're not getting into the sauce so it should be a much easier cleanup and we're getting and they're going to go through layers of sediment we also hear from where we're going what i have seen that at least for now the seas are really helpless out to really help is on the bins are holding and so if we can continue there with i think we've been blessed by this addition a window of time here to continue to be able to prepare not so it's going up and i she's blessing for florida and i think that some of that preparation is working for our strategy is to look and see what's happening in our neighboring counties and neighboring states and look at how does come ashore as a come ashore and in matters it coming ashore as a shaman and how they're dealing with that technology is in many ways a lot more for their community driven so for our assessment of the situation is to keep a lot of the west is the science of predicting where this oil is going to go my observations of

ours that the forecasting that hanson has been disappointing it's been two days away from pensacola for ten days and that which isn't forgotten would never either here but but i'm sure there's great marlene out there i haven't seen it and says it was a good example of all rural after four that was predicted haven't forgotten or three hurricane sunday night we went to bed they pointed out the category three hurricane monday morning monday it was close and then how much you know we closed and then you know we get questioned on that but again don't then send son and i were together were very welcome i think that illustrates that the difficulty in modeling we know more about hurricanes we have more studies and hurricanes are more science behind it end in six hours ago from a category three two notes left the political political writers are just a lot about the curse and we don't understand but we can predict the

weather would draw a moment where it's going and it was going into it and i hate to say and a lot of frustration out there but i think it's irresponsible is to say yeah it's going to be a five on scales or thinner or anything else but i think we need to focus on developing the plans for how we're going to treat it if it gets here and then look to the science but that really will focus on planning one reason towns don't we sometimes forget this all that rain we had it again we certainly trying to say to fossil we have retention constitution bonds to keep that water from entering but the water brings awful lot of countries it's amazing the golf can sustain a certain amount of us well we had a cabin i think of those days is slightly said we need to import cars without a cap does that if i might now but again the solution the pollution is pollution so the more if we can get something we have a larger very dispersed over in the gulf will take care of itself and some asides again we're learning we're learning all these things i was amazed when away from him or talk about the different things that it does again is just it's great to have staff like keith and robert roberts urban

keith welcomes over here thinking that that that again help us out with a sign side because again there's so many things that we probably are used are forecasting that it becomes difficult so much what the science guy safe so we don't know its origins in the early years of education we don't know in a large operation center report by northwest florida asked how can we help him and we asked them to tune with its money worship what they're modeling the assertion that model and distortion models and also for legitimate keith grower from escambia county thanks very much new estimates of the loose accounting terribly throw deep deep deep tank of inherent and hopefully air with the bp thank you for the arrest of a bit of a field that's appreciated innocent and we know in that sport that's never liked our website of your salary dot org with more like spiked watch those

things because it