By MICHELLE MAXWELL/Eugene Register-Guard
As residents begin cleanup of their properties after the early September wildfires, one roadblock some hit was being unable to find a place to dump the ash and debris, which is considered potentially hazardous.
Typically, if someone tries to take the debris or ash from a burnt property to a dump, they will be turned away. State regulations around handling of asbestos and storing waste debris limit how and where hazardous waste can be handled.
The help speed up wildfire cleanup, the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission on Friday relaxed some requirements for handling of ash and debris that may contain asbestos and authorized temporary debris storage before its permanent disposal in landfills.
DEQ loosened its rule regarding asbestos for people who decide to hire a licensed asbestos abatement contractor to clean their properties, including:
- Fees and notification requirements are suspended; commercial and larger residential projects requiring demolition must still submit a notification;
- Open accumulation of asbestos debris is allowed;
- No requirement for negative-pressure enclosure of the debris;
- Use of mechanical equipment is allowed.
The changes also allow residential property owners with four or fewer dwelling units to do the work themselves if they meet certain conditions including not using paid labor and wetting down material to prevent airborne particles. The packaging, transport and disposal rules remain the same.
Additionally, to deal with the large volume of wildfire debris, the state will suspend rules to allow waste staging areas to be set up quickly to store and manage the debris for proper disposal. DEQ will issue letters of authorization for short-term stockpiling of wildfire debris and waive permit fees.
Officials understand that people with properties that burned may want to be proactive and quickly begin cleanup. To avoid the risks from sifting through, moving and transporting fire debris, Oregon DEQ strongly urges people to wait and not to undertake cleanup themselves because of the risks posed by asbestos and other hazardous materials.
Rather, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state of Oregon advise residents of burned properties to take advantage of a program to have Environmental Protection Agency crews remove household hazardous waste from fire-affected properties at no cost to the property owner.
The assistance, announced by FEMA on Monday, requires property owners to sign an access agreement, called a Right of Entry form, by Oct. 16 to allow crews to clean up hazardous waste on their property.
This is the first step in cleanup and is being offered at no cost to property owners (although insurance may be billed if applicable). This work will be funded by FEMA and the state of Oregon.
The second step is the removal of ash, debris and burned-out structures. State, county and federal partners are actively working to develop options for ash and debris removal. (This is likely, but not yet confirmed, to be available at no cost to property owners.)
Crews that specialize in identifying and removing hazardous substances will visit affected properties, determine what hazardous materials need to be removed and remove them for safe disposal. Commercial or industrial properties are included in these efforts
Household hazardous waste removal timeline (approximate):
- Property owners are asked to sign the property access agreement by Oct. 16;
- Boots-on-the-ground teams: Oct. 20-22;
- Cleanup complete by Dec. 31.
Other assistance available
FEMA has provided $13.4 million to people affected by the Oregon wildfires.
To receive assistance, people must register by visiting disasterassistance.gov, calling 800-621-3362 or using the Federal Emergency Management Agency app.
- If you have homeowners, flood, automobile or mobile home insurance, call your insurance provider to start your claims process. You must report the insurance settlement amount you receive to FEMA to complete your registration.
- Save your receipts and take photos before you begin the clean-up process. Documentation of losses will help FEMA process your claim.
- Disaster assistance for individuals and business owners may include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs.
- Low-interest disaster recovery loans from the US Small Business Administration are available to homeowners, renters and businesses. Applicants can reach SBA at 800-659-2955 or visit sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. During a disaster declaration, homeowners and renters can be considered for SBA loans, not just businesses.