I did receive a phone call from an Escambia County official late last night. He told me that the word from the Unified Command in Mobile is that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is holding up approval of the county’s plan to stop oil from getting inside Pensacola Bay and the Intercoastal Waterway. The Coast Guard is ready to approve it, but DEP is the hold up.
Commissioner Grover Robinson is furious. Since Friday, April 30, he, County Administrator Larry Newsom and the county staff have been pushing for the county plan to be approved. The county has the boom and is ready to deploy it.
Today Gov. Charlie Crist is coming to the Escambia County EOC. Expect him to kick some DEP butts.