Beach cleaning procedures continue along the Gulf Shores coastline in preparation for what is expected to be a “business-as-usual” Spring break along Alabama’s Gulf Coast.

Many businesses have used BP claims money to spruce up their exteriors, enhance their menus, and do some landscaping, but officials say all will be in vain if the beaches aren’t clean.

As it stands, the beach cleaning process is moving along in a timely fashion, and officials are cautiously optimistic.

Orange Beach

“In Orange Beach, visually speaking, they have done a decent job,” said Mayor Tony Kennon, who was adamant about a Jan. 1 cleanup deadline. “The timeframe was met and that was our number one concern.”

Kennon said that evaluation of the beaches since the cleaning was completed has not officially been done, but will be soon.

Will tar balls still appear on Alabama’s white sandy beaches? It could happen for years to come, said Orange Beach City Administrator Ken Grimes, but procedures are in place to get those out of the way as soon as they appear.

“The first thing people need to do is call us at city hall at 251-981-6979,” Grimes said. “Our front desk staff will contact the appropriate personnel, we have staff that contacts the BP operations program, and everyone responds.”

Another issue that officials are concerned about is tar mats.

“We want a more extensive survey of the tar mats and more comprehensive knowledge about what specifically is out there,” said Kennon. “I don’t feel that BP has done a good enough job with providing that information.”

Kennon said that if the city has to do it, they will.

“I have been talking to BP about this issue since July and their response is always one of ‘we hear you.’ ”

Both Kennon and Grimes said that the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) has been behind the city and their demands, and agree with city officials that the surf zone has not been evaluated properly.

According to Kennon, the surf zone is variable, but basically measures from the water’s edge out to the second bar.

Gulf Shores

Although cleanup is taking slightly longer to complete in Gulf Shores, Mayor Robert Craft feels good about the work being done.

“They are running a little bit behind schedule but it looks like they are going to finish around Feb. 12,” said Craft. “It misses the timeframe of Feb. 1, but Feb. 15 was my day for them to be finished, and they are committed to making it work.”

Craft said that there are five cleanup teams working in the city and from his viewpoint, by all appearances, it looks like they are doing a good job.

“They are not getting it all. They are never going to get it all, but they are getting the majority of it and I think enough to where we are going to be able to market good, clean beaches going forward.”

 Grimes said that ADEM would likely have to finalize the on-going beach cleaning in Gulf Shores before they can evaluate and know exactly what will need to be done.

“We still have to get them on the islands out here, the back bays, and other areas that we haven’t had a chance to look at yet because our beaches were our number one priority,” Grimes said.

While there are transitions presently taking place at the state level with the change in administrations, Grimes said that ADEM has remained consistent.

Although Alabama’s 53rd governor, Dr. Robert Bentley, has not yet visited elected officials along the Gulf Coast, Kennon said that they have been in contact.

“In his comments, he says that he is committed to supporting us in whatever we need. I hope he means that and I am going to hold him to it,” Kennon said. “I feel good about it.”