DEVELOPING A DISASTER DEBRIS
MANAGEMENT PLAN
Claude Denver and George Coyle
DHS&EM Operations Section
October 6, 2011
Debris Management Cycle
Pre-Disaster
Planning
Debris
Disposal
Scoping the
Mission
Debris
Reduction
and Recycling
Emergency
Clearance
Work
Debris
Removal
Getting Started
• There are three activities that we
recommend before starting the
disaster debris management plan.
1.
The first step is to understand the
State’s and FEMA’s requirements
for debris management eligibility.
2.
A multi-agency team should be
identified to create the plan.
3.
Establish a schedule for updating
the plan to ensure that it reflects
current practices and policies.
Pre-disaster Planning
• Develop the Debris Management
Plan (DMP).
– Work with State and Federal officials in
developing your plan.
– Include the right people on your
planning team.
– Develop pre-incident contracts for
disaster debris removal with local
contractors.
Components of a DMP
1. Pre-planning activities
• Identify likely debris types and
forecast amounts
• List applicable agencies and
regulations*:
Local, state, and federal
• Inventory current capacity for
debris management
• Identify equipment and
administrative needs (including
pre-negotiated contracts)
• Develop communication plan
• Create a disaster debris
prevention strategy
2. Create a debris removal
strategy beyond initial
clearing
•
Pre-select temporary debris
storage sites
3. Prioritize debris management
options
•
•
•
•
•
Harmful materials
identification and handling
recommendations
Recycling options
Waste-to-energy options
Disposal options
Open burning options
Identify Debris Types
and Forecast Amounts
• The types of materials that will
make up the disaster debris
stream should be assessed.
– By disaster type (e.g., windstorm,
earthquake, tsunami, etc.)
– By region (Western Coast,
Interior, North Slope, SouthCentral, Panhandle, etc.)
– By level of urbanization (e.g.,
municipality, city, village, etc.)
• FEMA and the USACE have
HAZUS maps, GIS software,
and debris prediction models
that could be used.
Typical Debris Streams for Different
Types of Disasters
List Applicable Federal, State, and
Local Environmental Regulations
• Once a disaster strikes, there will
not be time to do extensive
research.
• Prior to the disaster, communities
need to understand how all waste
types must be managed according
to federal, state, and local
regulations
Inventory Current Capacity
for Debris Management
• After the amount and type of
debris are estimated, assess the
region’s capacity to manage the
debris.
• Solid waste management facilities
need to be inventoried
• Contacts, locations, and directions
for all solid waste facilities listed for
quick reference.
• Evaluate all options, not just trucks,
for moving debris to preferred facilities.
• Any other necessary service
providers should also be
compiled.
•Consider additional waste management
facilities through mutual aid
agreements.
Determine Debris
Tracking Mechanisms
• The EPA recommends that
communities determine how debris
can be tracked during clean-up.
• Tracking information is important to
determine:
–
the amount of capacity used and
available at various debris management
locations,
– to pay debris haulers, and
– to determine the total amount managed
from the disaster.
• The State and FEMA also have
tracking requirements for
reimbursement.
Pre-select Debris Management Sites
•
•
•
•
•
Pre-select temporary sites that can be
used for the storing, sorting, and
processing of debris.
Identifying ample space to stage,
store, and process debris can be a
challenge.
Sites selected in the past have
included disposal facilities,
landfills/dumps, local parks, or closed
industrial/military facilities.
These sites can be used to temporarily
store debris before transferring it to
another facility, or they can be used to
process debris on site.
Conveniently located sites can reduce
travel time when transferring debris to
processing or management facilities
and result in expedited debris cleanup.
FEMA states 100 acres of land are needed to
process one million cubic yards of debris. The
figure above depicts an 100-acre debris
management site for nonhazardous debris
with a small area for hazardous waste brought
in by mistake.
General Environmental, Safety, and
Logistical Considerations
•
Environmental monitoring.
– Vegetative debris may require
monitoring of groundwater, air, fires, etc.
– Areas used to stage mixed, C&D, or
hazardous wastes may need more
extensive monitoring
•
Removal of debris from the site in a
timely manner.
– Putrescible, mixed, harmful, and
hazardous wastes should not be stored
for extended periods of time.
– These types of debris should be removed
daily or as soon as practical to prevent
odors, vectors, human health hazards,
and/or environmental releases.
•
Limiting site access to ensure that the
site is secure.
• Evaluating traffic logistics on and
around the storage site.
• Minimizing noise disruptions to
acceptable hours.
• Hazardous waste will cause many
more considerations….
Develop a Communication Plan
•
•
•
•
Develop a communication plan to
communicate effectively with the debris
management team, and all other
entities, including the general public
regarding the debris removal process.
The chain-of-command, as well as how
decisions will be communicated through
the chain, need to be clearly articulated.
Hold frequent meetings after the
disaster to communicate events and
problems, as well as solutions.
Establish a reliable method to
communicate with police, health
officials, and other emergency
responders to ensure debris is collected
in a manner protective of public safety.
•
•
Establish a communication strategy
with major industrial and commercial
enterprises in the area that may
generate large amounts of wastes.
All communication should be timely,
consistent, updated, and use language
that is not overly technical.
Communicating with the Public
•
•
•
•
•
Informing the public about debris
management before disaster strikes
should make dealing with the aftermath
easier.
Residents typically want debris to be
removed as quickly as possible, and may
resort to illegal burning, dumping, and
other improper management methods.
Providing public education before and
after the disaster can curb this response.
Inform the community when, where,
and how debris collection will
commence, when normal collection is
likely to resume, and provide special
instructions for reporting and separating
disaster debris at the curb
Use a combination of radio/television
announcements, flyers, websites,
telephone, etc. to be effective in getting
the message out.
17
A Quick Public Message Could Be..
PUBLIC MESSAGE
“Don’t “CHEAT” The Environment”
“C “ “H “ “E” “A” “T” -
Construction and Demolition, C&D
Household Hazardous Waste
Electronic Waste
Appliances, (White Goods)
Trees or Vegetative Debris
Curbside Segregation is Most Efficient
Create a Disaster Debris
Prevention Strategy
•
•
•
Disaster debris prevention should be
considered in a disaster debris
management plan to reduce the
generation of debris.
Include an education outreach program to
educate the public on how they may
decrease the amount of damage that their
property might suffer in a natural disaster.
Hazard Mitigation Plans discuss
preventative measures aimed at reducing
the generation of disaster debris.
CREATE A DEBRIS
REMOVAL STRATEGY
• Begin debris removal as soon as it
is safe for personnel to be out in
the community.
• The debris removal strategy
should discuss how each type of
debris should be segregated
(where applicable), collected, and
managed.
• Ensuring that the debris is
removed in a timely fashion is
important to protect the safety of
the community and to return the
community back to normal.
• The first step should be the
clearing of roadways and ensuring
that emergency vehicles can travel
effectively.
Emergency Debris Clearance
Prioritize and clear access for:
 Police, Fire, and emergency
medical responders and vehicles
 Water supply, power service,
sanitary sewer repairs
 Operating Emergency Shelters
 Restoring Communication
 Distribution of water, ice, & food
to victims
 Ensure political and
socioeconomic balance
Include Methods for Implementing the
Strategy
• Following the initial clearing, there
should be a plan for collection
priorities.
• Debris that may pose an immediate
threat to human health and the
environment should be a first
priority in collection.
• Following that, the strategy should
discuss materials that are priorities
for recycling or reuse.
• While recycling should be pursued to
the extent possible, it is likely that
many materials will be disposed.
• “Don’t Make it More Complicated
than it is” - whenever possible load
disaster debris one time and deliver
it to the final disposal site. Often
that won’t be the most efficient
solution.
HARMFUL MATERIALS
IDENTIFICATION AND HANDLING
• Examples of materials handled
as hazardous wastes include:
–
–
–
–
–
automotive/marine batteries,
pesticide containers,
explosives,
automotive oils, fuels and fluids,
solvents, paint thinners and
strippers and
– compressed gas containers.
• Separate these materials into
appropriate categories.
These Types of Debris will Require
Special Handling and Management
•
Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)
•
– Household items that display one or more
of the following characteristics –
ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or
toxicity.
•
– Putrid food must be carefully
handled during removal, collection
and disposal as garbage.
– Refrigerants such as freon must be
reclaimed for recycling by certified
technicians.
Asbestos-containing material (ACM)
– such as asbestos pipe wrap, siding, ceiling
tiles, and other building materials, typically
found in older buildings.
•
PCBs
– Some metal units are suitable for
recycling.
•
Storage tanks
– found both above ground and
underground, containing petroleum or
hazardous substances that, if released,
could pose significant risk to health, safety,
and the environment.
Electronic Waste
– include televisions, desktop and
laptop computers, computer
attachments, stereo equipment, and
cell phones may contain up to 4 lbs
of heavy metals (e.g., lead,
chromium, cadmium, mercury,
beryllium, nickel, or zinc).
– found in older (pre-1979) transformers
attached to downed utility poles.
•
White Goods
•
Firearms and ammunition
RECYCLING OPTIONS
• Include a strategy for reuse,
recycling, and mulching or
composting.
• Recycling and reuse will cut
costs, and provide a
valuable material resource.
• Set priorities for reusing and
recycling disaster debris
materials.
• Identify re-use options in
A list of recycling centers statewide can be found on the
advance.
State of Alaska DEC – Solid Waste Website at:
http://www.dec.state.ak.us/eh/sw/RecyclingInAlaska.html#.
What can be Recycled?
•
Building materials, such as brick,
blocks, concrete, lumber, asphalt tiles
•
Road and Bridge materials, asphalt
pavement, concrete, and steel
•
•
Treated wood, such as wooden utility
poles, other lumber that may be
chemically-treated
•
Automobiles and Boats, may be
recycled.
•
White goods (household appliances)
stoves, refrigerators, washers and
dryers, and hot water heaters
•
Electronics waste, televisions, desktop
and laptop computers, stereo
equipment, and cell phones
Vegetative debris (or green waste)
•
Sediment, sand, silt, or soils, unless
contaminated.
•
Decaying or rotting wastes (including
animal carcasses), such as fruits,
vegetables, meats, dairy products can
be composted, rendered, etc.
WASTE-TO-ENERGY OPTIONS
• Natural disasters can create large
amounts of vegetative debris that
could be used as a fuel or energy
source.
• Most of this material is left to
decay, burned in place or hauled
to landfills.
• Using biomass to create energy
instead of disposing it has both
environmental and economic
benefits.
– Saves landfill capacity
– Reduces air emissions
– Provides a source of heating fuel for
residents
– Promotes a good image to the
public
REDUCTION OPTIONS
• If not recycling, Debris
Management Plans should
evaluate methods to reduce
debris prior to disposal.
• There are two main types of
reduction methods:
– Incineration - it has up to a 95
percent reduction rate.
– Chipping/Grinding/Shredding –
The reduction rate could be up to
75%.
A Typical Debris Reduction Site
Construction & Demolition
(C&D) Debris
C&D
Small
Trucks
Metals
Mixed Vegetative Debris
HTW
Ash Pit
Clean
Burn Pits
Vegetative Debris
Air Curtain Burners
Mulch
Tower
Tub
Grinders
OPEN BURNING
• Open burning includes both burning
debris in an open pit and burning
debris in an air curtain incinerator
(ACI).
• Air Curtain Burners do not burn
anything. They control the results
of something burning.
• All open burning should be
conducted in accordance with state
regulations.
– Burn only clean vegetative material
– No haz mat, asbestos, pressure treated
wood, etc.
Burner
Air Curtain
“Box”
Burn area
Wood Debris
DISPOSAL OPTIONS
• The most cost-efficient measure is
usually to make use of the applicant’s
own or normally utilized landfills, if
space is available.
• Most disaster debris is not hazardous
and can be disposed, as appropriate,
in a C&D landfill, MSW landfill, or
nonhazardous solid waste combustor
regulated by a state agency.
• Hazardous or Asbestos-Containing
material will need special disposal.
• Mixed debris typically includes a
mixture of all types of debris will need
special attention.
Debris Monitoring
•
•
•
Debris monitoring throughout the debris
management program.
Account for debris during the removal,
transport, and disposal process beginning
with the “load ticket” at the point of
origin.
Monitoring at disposal facilities ensures:
– unscrupulous contractors or residents are
not allowed to dispose debris not suitable
for the landfill
– contamination from hazardous wastes
and other debris of concern does not
occur.
– contractor safety on the site.
– accurate and validated loads are
deposited.
•
Thus, when a truck enters the staging or
disposal areas, spotters check the load for
volume and contaminants not allowed at
that site.
State of Alaska Debris Management Plan
• The State of Alaska has recently
completed the State of Alaska Debris
Management Plan, dated August
2009.
• The plan includes estimated
quantities of debris by region for
flood, earthquake, and tsunami
events.
August 2009
FEMA Debris Guidance
• FEMA guidance is available that
could help in developing your
debris management plan:
– FEMA 325 – Debris
Management Guide
– FEMA 9580 series Debris
Operations Job Aids and Fact
Sheets
– FEMA E 202 – Debris
Management Course
Other Federal Debris Guidance
• Other federal guidance on debris
management is available from:
– USACE
– USEPA
– NOAA/USCG
– USDA/NRCS
Questions???
State Emergency Coordination Center
(800) 478-2337 (24 hours)
Claude E. Denver or George Coyle
(907) 428-7100
claude.denver@alaska.gov
george.coyle@alaska.gov
36