'VERY OPTIMISTIC': With top kill in the works, city told oil impact ‘should be minimal'

“Minimal impact” — those words are a sound of relief to City Manager Greg Kisela.

Kisela told the Log that Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Sole “is very optimistic that the top kill method will work, and the impact on the Florida coast will be minimal.”

City officials will be closely monitoring the situation over the next 24-48 hours as BP and the entire Emerald Coast wait to see if the two-pronged approach of heavy mud and dense rubber balls can plug the gushing well.

“If the top kill method is successful,” Kisela said. “We may just end up seeing some tar balls, or oil sheen and splotches.”

He added that “if that is all we see, then we can deal with that.”

“It still wouldn’t be good,” he said, “but it’s a lot better than what the people in Louisiana are dealing with right now.”

One bit of bad news came from the latest weather forecast where Weather Underground expert Jeff Masters stated that “The long-range forecast from the GFS model indicates continued southwesterly winds all of next week. If this forecast verifies, we will see our greatest chances yet of significant amounts of oil reaching the beaches of Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle.” For the full forecast, click here.

When asked about reports of the booms in Destin being relocated to ground zero in Louisiana, Kisela said he had “heard the same thing.”

“I got a voicemail yesterday that suggested that the boom was being deployed to Louisiana,” he said Friday morning. “I later heard that it wasn’t true.”

Kisela said the boom that has been staged in East Pass by Eagle SWS is going to remain exactly where it is for the time being, while the boom in Panama City is transferred west.

“It makes sense that they would take some of the booms,” he said. “You see the photos and the images on TV — they need it.”

Meanwhile, Gov. Charlie Crist will return to the Destin area this weekend to meet with  area tourism leaders from the seven coastal counties at Pompano Joe's. To see photos from the visit, click here.

While the potential oil impact may not be as severe as first thought due to the top kill, Kisela said the city is still utilizing the oil spill “Information Center” on Stahlman Avenue and will continue to have representative from the Small Business Association in Destin.

Kisela said “the phones are still ringing and questions are still being answered” at the information center.

“People coming in have more tourism-related questions,” he said. “There are some concerns and questions about jobs, but no big rush of locals.”

To see photos of President Obama touring ground zero in Louisiana, click here.