FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Local oil spill impacts and watershed protection efforts will be the focus of Wednesday’s meeting of the Fairhope Environmental Advisory Board.

“I wanted to create a forum about the issue and what the ramifications are in our area,” said Jim Horner, FEAB chairman, of the group’s meeting that starts at 9 a.m., July 14, in City Council chambers. “It allows the people of Fairhope to come and hear a first-rate presentation on exactly what is going on, what is being done, and what ramifications could result from the oil spill.”

Roberta Swann, director of the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, will give a presentation on oil spill impacts and watershed protection issues that will include film footage shot by Lynn Rabren, the Orange Beach videographer who contributed to the first “60 Minutes” television special on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion.

“I had heard that Rabren did the ‘60 Minutes’ piece and worked with Dan Rather recently on the issue and helped Roberta with this presentation,” Horner said. “That to me indicates the high level of quality that we can expect from the presentation.”

Swann said her presentation will also address the formation of a Baldwin County Watershed Coalition that will work together in the upcoming months to pass a stormwater protection referendum that will be on the ballot in November.

“I will also be talking about how technological disasters of this kind can break down the fabric of a community and what we can do in response,” Swann said. “I’ll wrap up the presentation with the need for us to come together and the steps we can take to do so.”

The Wednesday meeting will also include an update on local oil spill impacts and protection efforts by Assistant Public Works Director Ken Eslava.

“I will give an an overview of what’s happened, and where we’re going right now,” said Eslava, who led the city’s effort that resulted this week in a grant of $500,000 to fund for a contingency plan for oil spill protection in Fairhope. “We’re also focusing heavily on environmental factors and trying to get clear, concise and accurate information about air and water quality out to the public at this time.”