Private‑property debris removal packets delayed as state reviews FEMA submissions

County staff told the board that Mitchell County submitted private‑property debris removal (PPDR) packets to FEMA but received little or no feedback for several months; when the state began reviewing the submissions it issued a critique requiring additional documentation such as tax cards, boundary photos and septic details for many properties.

“We sent a 100 of them to FEMA, and FEMA sat on them for about 2 months,” the county manager said. Staff said the county had submitted about 600 packets and that state reviewers flagged items that must be corrected or supplemented; HGA (the county’s disaster‑management firm) and county staff are updating packets to meet the requested documentation standards. Officials warned residents that some packets will require rework and advised them to monitor mitchellcountync.gov and the county Facebook page for sign‑up and status updates.

Staff reiterated that private‑property debris removal covers vegetative and construction debris in the improved area of a property that threatens critical infrastructure or public safety and warned of heightened wildfire risk in many parts of the county. FEMA’s stated application deadline for registrations was July 31, though officials noted the deadline has been extended in prior rounds.

What’s next: Staff said they will work with state reviewers to resubmit corrected packets, publish a toll‑free number and update the county website and social channels as new registration or call‑in options come online.