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Attachment:  Graphic showing beach zones from Shoreline Assessment Teams

Shoreline Assessment Report and Cleanup Guidelines, 10 August 2000

Shoreline Assessment Team Membership

Team 1:				Team 2:

Scott Zengel, NOAA SST		Cathy Porthouse, FDEP
Anne Meador, FDEP			Jason Maddox, NOAA SST
Alan Webb, USFWS			Robert Frakes, USFWS.

On 10 August 2000, Team 1 surveyed the southern two thirds of Zone 4 to Haulover Cut,
segments prefixed with "T".  Team 2 surveyed the southern portion of Zone 3 not covered
yesterday, and the northern third of Zone 4, segments prefixed with "S".  Summary results
are listed below from North to South.  High tide was at 05:17, low tide was at 11:36.
Shoreline types were primarily fine-grained sand beach.


Shoreline Surveys Summary

Zone	Seg_id (length)	Time Period	Tide	Oiling
Conditions	Cleanup
Recommendations	
3	SG
(1.4 mi.)       10:00 -10:10    falling tarballs -trace to sporadic, very narrow zone with
small tarballs       none

4	SH 
(2.0 mi.)	10:10 -11:00	falling to near low	tarballs-trace to none	none	
4	TA 
(4.0 mi.)	10:00-11:00	falling to near low	none	none	

Other Shoreline Assessment Observations

•       No buried oil was found.  Segment SH and TA had signs of mechanical removal of
stranded wrack, as part of general beach maintenance.  Buried wrack was found near the
high tide line, but no oil was present.  Segment SG and SH had several areas with eroding
scarps near the high tide line (from beach re-nourishment projects), where burial of
stranded tarballs could occur at the base of the scarp, however, no buried oil was found.


•       Tarball size was less than 1 cm in diameter in segment SG.  In segment SH,
tarballs observed on the beaches were 1-2 inches in diameter, and appeared to be newly
deposited, over the previous night or morning.


•       Little oil was observed on the water surface or in the nearshore water column.
Trace amounts of tarballs were observed on the water surface at Hallandale Beach,
Hollywood Beach, and John U. Lloyd SRA.


•       Potential submerged oil or oiled wrack accumulations were investigated today,
primarily within John U. Lloyd SRA.  Most dark areas observed from the beach consisted of
submerged wrack that was not oiled.  One area within the southern half of the SRA had a
large oval-shaped submerged oil mat that was at least 10 feet by 6 feet in size.  This
area was continuous oil with some seagrass or sargassum wrack mixed in it. The oil was
sticky, and appeared to be at least 1-2 inches thick.  Tarballs were breaking off of the
mat and floating toward the water surface.  Several dinner plate to softball-sized oil
patties were also observed in the vicinity of the larger mat.  Beach users in the area
were also reporting submerged tar patties.  A local diver collected two to several large
patties as well.  This diver only observed oil within the first nearshore trough in 4-5
feet of water.


Shoreline Cleanup Thresholds and End Points

•       The cleanup thresholds and end points established yesterday still apply, however,
cleanup is not recommended for most areas with narrow bands (1-2 feet wide) of very small
tarballs (< 1 cm diameter) with coverage of 10% or less.  Removal of tarballs from such
areas would not be effective relative to the amount of clean sand that would also be
removed.  However, if oiling as described above is encountered in prime turtle nesting
areas, the shoreline will need to be fully or partially cleaned or the nests or hatchlings
relocated to clean areas.


Future Plans and Remaining Issues

•       Rapid assessment and cleanup teams: small teams consisting of USCG and cleanup
contractor personnel are going to survey and spot clean the entire incident area (Zone
1-4) over the next two days.  FDEP may also conduct additional rapid shoreline assessment
and cleanup monitoring surveys at this time.


•       Monitoring high priority sea turtle nesting beaches: since new tarball stranding
was observed today, areas identified by USFWS and FFWCC as prime nesting beaches
(Hillsboro Inlet Beach, John U. Lloyd SRA, Golden Beach) will need to be monitored to
identify any new tarball stranding events.  USFWS (Bob Frakes or Allen Webb) and FFWCC
(Beth Morford) should be consulted for guidance if significant new tarballs wash up in
these areas.  They are instructing all turtle nesting monitors in the incident area to
report new oiling that would affect sea turtle hatchlings to the USCG.


•       Submerged Oil: commercial divers are going to investigate submerged oil sites and
adjacent areas at John U. Lloyd SRA tomorrow.  Large submerged oil mats, such as the 10 ft
by 6 ft area described above, should be removed.  Depending on the amount and distribution
of submerged oil patties observed, the need for cleanup of these may need to be addressed
and cleanup guidelines and end points developed.

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