(Brunswick,Ga.) -- State, local and federal officials met here Friday to discuss response plans for any potential threat to Georgia from the current oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Emergency management agency (EMA) directors from Georgia's six coastal counties (Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Glynn, Liberty, McIntosh), as well as representatives from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Georgia Emergency Management Agency, United States Coast Guard (USCG), Senator Saxby Chambliss' office and Congressman Jack Kingston's office received briefings on current status of the Deepwater Horizon incident. They also discussed scientific data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Georgia Sea Grant Program.

The consensus of the USCG, the lead federal agency for the spill, and DNR's Coastal Resources Division, the lead state agency for oil spill response along the Georgia coast, is that the likelihood of oil currently

in the Gulf of Mexico directly impacting coastal Georgia is low. However, if it does directly impact Georgia, it will not be as significant as what the Gulf Coast states are experiencing.

Daily overflights and foot patrols on barrier island beaches, along with participation in three daily Deepwater Horizon Unified Command briefings by state, local, and federal officials in Georgia, prompted them to say these enhanced, daily monitoring efforts will prevent "oil from sneaking up on us."

Glynn County EMA hosted the meeting at Glynn County's Public Safety Center.

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Post Office Box 18055 - Atlanta, Georgia 30316-0055
Phone (404) 635-7000 or toll-free in Georgia 1-800-TRY-GEMA - Fax (404)635-7205
www.gema.ga.gov
www.ready.ga.gov
www.georgia911.org