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Avery County officials say private-property and waterway debris removal still hinge on federal guidance
Summary
County commissioners approved contract amendments and spending caps but officials and contractors said questions remain about how FEMA and state rules define eligible waterway work and when private-property debris removal will proceed.
Avery County officials approved contract amendments and spending limits on Feb. 10, 2025 but said federal guidance will determine how and when much of the waterway and private-property debris removal is carried out.
Vice-Chair Dennis Aldridge told the Board the county had been seeking procedural guidance "for several months" and warned, "I am reluctant to move forward with lack of clarity and we are waiting on that and not from the contract level but from the people who provide the funding and approval." Aldridge said the county was conscious of not committing to projects that might later be found ineligible for federal reimbursement.
Chip Patterson of SDR said interpretations vary and gave Haywood County’s Tropical Storm Fred response as an example of a narrow interpretation that considered limits as "water edge to water edge." He said the state, FEMA, SDR and contracted debris monitors were still working on definitions.
Dennis Cruthirds, vice president of Debristech, which is assisting with waterway assessments and private-property debris removal (PPDR), said Debristech would begin PPDR assessments in Woodfin and that FEMA had waived its own assessment requirement in favor of contractor-collected assessments. Cruthirds said FEMA is requiring 10% of assessments submitted in groups of 50. "Everything that we do with PPDR is directed by the county," he said.
Board members also asked whether property owners would be required to maintain flood insurance if FEMA cleared and paid for private-property debris removal; an attendee identified as Angelia said FEMA’s position at the meeting was that removal was "a hazard to public safety and it needs to be removed," and she said FEMA was not imposing a flood-insurance requirement at that time. No formal county decision on PPDR was made during the meeting.
County staff and contractors said the NRCS Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program—often used for private-property watershed repair—remains a longer-term option (estimated by SDR to take 18–24 months and contingent on Congressional funding). Commissioners directed staff to continue seeking clear FEMA/state eligibility guidance before expanding operations beyond the approved right-of-way and initial waterway phases.
