Board accepts disaster recovery management site plan for 20-acre property; archaeological review pending

Jeff Phillips, senior project manager with SCS Engineers, presented the Story County Board of Supervisors on June 3 with a disaster recovery management site plan for a roughly 20-acre parcel at 60016 On 100 and Sixteenth Street intended as a staging and processing location for vegetative debris, construction-demolition debris, appliances and household hazardous waste.

Phillips said the plan is “to develop a plan that describes the components of the management site and then talk through, and establish guidance for how the site would be used, when it would be activated, at what levels, and, who would be responsible for performing what activities.” He emphasized the plan is for staging and processing, not disposal, and described modular traffic patterns, material-processing zones and recommended safety, environmental and operational controls.

The nut graf: the plan sets up a flexible site that can be scaled for small or large events, includes estimates of on-site staging capacity and recommends periodic tabletop exercises and after-action reviews to refine activation procedures.

Phillips said the mixed construction-and-demolition debris area is sized to stage material equivalent to debris from about 50 typical 1,600-square-foot, two-story homes based on FEMA field guidance, and that vegetation-processing zones and designated appliance and household-hazardous-waste pads are included. The plan also identifies potential beneficial-reuse and disposal facilities for material moved off site.

County staff said the plan already distinguishes between temporary activation and the possibility of future permanent infrastructure, but that no immediate move toward permanent status is proposed. Facilities Management will guide on-site management when activated, and Planning and Development will participate as needed. Staff noted one outstanding item: guidance from the State Historic Preservation Office on whether an archaeological study is required.

Supervisors asked operational questions including whether DuPont’s prior use of the site required an archaeological study and whether the site manager and health-and-safety manager would be the same person; staff said those details would vary by event and be determined in activation protocols.

A motion to accept the disaster recovery management site plan was moved, seconded and, following roll call, recorded as approved. The action does not itself start construction; staff said the site can be used “as is” for small activations and scaled up with temporary construction and equipment as needed.