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Burke County partners with state to speed private-property and waterway debris removal after storm
Summary
The commissioners approved a memorandum of agreement with North Carolina Emergency Management to have the state assist with private-property, commercial and waterway debris removal as part of Hurricane Lien recovery; the board cited cost and liability considerations and voted 5-0.
Burke County commissioners voted 5-0 to authorize a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the North Carolina Department of Emergency Management to accelerate removal of private-property, commercial and waterway debris from hurricane recovery operations.
County Manager (Mister Mander) told the board the county has already collected roughly 328,000 cubic yards of debris from rights-of-way under a separate contract and has used three temporary debris sites, two of which are in the process of closure. He said 18 hazard-mitigation applications are active, that no Burke County households remain in temporary housing, and that property owners returned nearly 695 impairment forms that yielded about $36,000,000 in estimated property-value impairment tied to the storm.
The manager said private-property debris removal (PPDR) and waterway debris removal carry greater regulatory complexity and higher cost and reimbursement risk than right-of-way collection, and that the MOA with the state would shift project-management, permitting, and some liability away from the county. He noted the county had already engaged Southern Debris Removal (SDR) and subcontracted teams from the Wright Group to perform much of the boots-on-the-ground work.
Joe Stanton, assistant director of North Carolina Emergency Management, said the state is prepared to move “as soon as possible.” He told commissioners, “Our goal is to get this debris removed as fast as possible,” adding the state works closely with FEMA and the federal coordinating office.
Staff also reported a drone survey of the Catawba River corridor by monitoring contractor Debris Tech that produced an estimated waterway-cleanup figure (the contractor’s estimate shown in staff materials was about $876,000 for the surveyed stretch). Staff recommended the MOA because it would allow mobilization without additional county project-management exposure.
Action taken: Commissioner Trout moved to approve the MOA and authorize the chairman to execute a final version after county-attorney review; the motion passed 5-0. Staff will return final executed agreements and monitor closeout of the county’s temporary debris sites.
