Contractor says 35,000 cubic yards removed; county and SDR detail debris clearing, burning and staging rules

Southern Disaster Recovery (SDR) project manager Roger Dale and Haywood Soil and Water director Dwayne Van Hook gave the county an operational update on post-Helene debris removal on Jan. 21, reporting the volume removed, the treatment plan for vegetative debris and rules for staging and public access to temporary debris management sites (TDMS).

Dale said SDR is 93 days into its contract in Haywood County and has moved 35,043 cubic yards of construction-and-demolition and vegetative debris, and hauled 11,521 cubic yards out of two TDMS sites to final disposal. He warned that non-storm dumping at cleaned locations is a recurring problem and described a multi-pass pickup strategy.

"When Haywood, you know, we'll be talking to the county manager ... about when do we see, you know, what do you how many how many more passes would you like us to do?" Dale said, summarizing coordination with county staff. He described a QA (quality-assurance) process before a road or area is certified as complete and noted that some areas have required multiple passes.

Haywood staff and SDR explained how TDMS works: the public is not allowed to drop debris at the SDR-managed sites because FEMA requires accountability for every cubic yard; material is screened, vegetative piles are being stockpiled for air-curtain burning, and C&D material is taken to landfill destinations. Dale said the county and SDR will flag questionable debris (for example, apparent household garbage) and address it with county administration.

Why it matters: clearing debris is a necessary step to reduce flood risk and to allow infrastructure repairs; how material is handled affects public health, landfill capacity and FEMA eligibility for reimbursement.

Key operational points from the presentation: - Quantities moved: 35,043 cubic yards (C&D and vegetative) removed; 11,521 cubic yards hauled from two TDMS sites to final destination (as reported by SDR). - Public access: residents may not bring material onto TDMS sites; SDR staff must log and control material to meet FEMA documentation requirements. - Vegetative debris: the county plans to use air-curtain burners to reduce smoke and minimize nuisance, and stockpile material until sufficient volumes make burning efficient. - Cleanup passes and QA: SDR conducts cleanup passes and then requests county sign-off; county staff will inspect and require further work if the site does not meet expectations. - Non-storm dumping: contractors reported new dumping at cleaned locations; county staff said they may enforce fines if evidence shows household trash was dumped deliberately.

SDR and soil-and-water staff encouraged residents to report new debris piles through county reporting channels so crews can schedule pickups; they said their current schedule includes initial sweeps and additional passes where needed and that right-of-way work is anticipated to continue into February for many locations.