Burke County seeks Army Corps help for waterway debris; manager outlines debris-removal progress

County Manager Brian Eppley told the Burke County Board of Commissioners on March 17 that county-led debris collection after the storm has collected about 270,000 cubic yards of material and that staff has asked the state to request a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mission assignment to remove debris from navigable waterways inside county borders.

The request to the State Department of Emergency Management followed board direction given March 3. Eppley said the corps would be a “turnkey operation” with permitting expertise for navigable waterways and that pairing Corps work with private-property debris removal makes logistical sense because many waterway access points cross private land and require right-of-entry approvals.

Eppley told commissioners Burke County has used four FEMA-permitted debris sites, including a recently critical impervious site at 211 East Fleming, and currently has about 20 trucks running on collection routes. He said contractors and monitors (DebrisTech and SDR) have helped hit federal deadlines and that county staff are preparing for a likely short extension of the current debris contracts, which expire late March. “As of today, we have about 20 trucks running today. We've collected about 270,000 cubic yards,” Eppley said.

Why this matters: debris…