By WILLIAM SNOWDEN

wsnowden@thewakullanews.net

This week's news of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was good as far as Florida is concerned: the plume had actually retreated from its seemingly inevitable approach to the coast.

Wakulla Emergency Management Director Scott Nelson noted this week that while the oil had drawn to within 70 miles of Pensacola and 85 miles of Port St. Joe, it was now 120 miles offshore from Pensacola and 170 miles from Port St. Joe.

At a regional meeting on Monday, May 10, at the FSU Marine Lab in St. Teresa to discuss the response, Nelson said the most recent data show the slick now moving East towards Louisiana.

"A lot of unknowns continue to weigh on us," Nelson said of the response.

The regional meeting, coordinated by the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce was an opportunity to regional officials and citizens to discuss the response to the oil spill, and express concerns.

At this point, it is anticipated that the effect in Florida would primarily be tarballs.

One issue that drew concern was that local governments are not in charge of the response as they would be in other types of emergencies, such as a hurricane. This situation is being administered from the top down – with BP the designated Responsible Party, and the U.S. Coast Guard overseeing the company's efforts.

In Florida, the state Department of Environmental Protection is in charge, and is coordinating the efforts of the local Emergency Operations Centers.

Counties are working on contingency plans, which are submitted to the state.

Nelson noted some frustration that Wakulla's booming plan, which calls for additional booms to protect the county's marshes and wetlands, would cost an additional $5 million to place.

Booms are no cure-all, it was noted at the meeting, with an effectiveness of about 15 percent – and even lower in strong currents or high seas.

Lt. Steve Kaski of the U.S. Coast Guard asked for patience from those at the meeting, that they would see that the response is massive and well-coordinated.

Another concern was the use of dispersants.

Jack Rudloe, founder of Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea, urged the responders not to use them.

"They're not good things," he said. "I'd rather see oil come here than break it into micro-particles."

The real devastation of the marine environment will be on a smaller level, Rudloe said. "Think plankton, microbials."

Wakulla Commission Chairman Howard Kessler expressed his concern about some of BP's claims about its efforts in responding to the spill. Other county officials at the meeting included commissioners Lynn Artz and Alan Brock, County Administrator Ben Pingree, and county Public Service Director Scott McDermid.