Coast Guard prepares plans for oil protection

The U.S. Coast Guard’s multi-state strategy for addressing floating oil at inlets includes plans for both Longboat Pass and New Pass.

Town Manager Bruce St. Denis sent an e-mail to the Longboat Key Town Commission Thursday alerting commissioners that if oil from the Deepwater Horizon well makes its way to Longboat Key, the passes will be protected by using booms to divert oil to collection points in and just outside the inlets.

Wrote St. Denis: “The strategy is to divert oil to sandy beach or seawall locations on both the Gulf and Bay sides of the inlets for collection.”

The town manager is discussing the implications of the Coast Guard’s strategy with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the town’s debris management contractor.

The Town Commission will discuss the cost of developing a local plan for Longboat Key at the commission’s 1 p.m., Thursday, May 20, regular workshop.

St. Denis believes creating a specific plan will help identify the best strategies for the town, which could then be adopted with the counties’ oil response plans.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].