Oil spill volunteer training, clean-up planned

Volunteers who want to help clean up Mississippi’s beaches before oil makes landfall can receive free training on the Gulf Coast this week.

Officials say the efforts will minimize the oil’s impact.

Community training for beach cleanup will be held at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Jackson County campus gymnasium and the Jefferson Davis campus in room U202.

Training also will be held at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., Tuesday through Friday at Pearl River Community College’s Hancock County Center.

This response training is hosted by local elected officials, BP personnel, community organizations and MGCCC, according to a news release from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

MEMA, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Marine Resources have been meeting with British Petroleum to coordinate the training efforts.

The training sessions will qualify volunteers to participate in pre-landfall beach cleaning. Federal, state and private entities are asking any volunteers to attend training to ensure their personal safety and well-being.

After training, volunteers will be at the following locations for beach clean-up:

Hancock County
• 2 p.m. at Bay St. Louis.
• 4 p.m. at Waveland.
• 6 p.m. at Buccaneer State Park.

Harrison County
• 2 p.m.: Pass Christian Central, Pass Christian East, Long Beach and Biloxi Central.
• 4 p.m.: Gulfport West, Gulfport Harbor, Gulfport West Central and Biloxi East.
• 6 p.m.: Courthouse Rd., Gulfport East and Edgewater

Jackson County
* 2 p.m.: Front Beach and Shearwater.
* 4 p.m.: Gulf Park Estates and St. Andrews.
• 6 p.m.: Pascagoula Beach West and Pascagoula Beach East.