Debris removal project targets homes

Several government and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are now coordinating a plan to conduct an islandwide cleanup to assist individual homeowners with the disposal of disaster related debris on their property.

The Office of the Governor, through the Emergency Management Office, is coordinating the project with the Mayor’s Office, departments of Public Works and Lands and Natural Resources, Public Assistance Office, and the Workforce Investment Agency.

They have been surveying all villages on the island to determine what is out there and what is required to pick them up and dispose of them.

“Since Kagman is the biggest village on the island and our people there has sustained the most damages, we will start there,” according to Gov. Juan N. Babauta.

Vicky Villagomez, the governor’s authorized representative, stated that “this project is one of the biggest we have and we are currently finalizing with FEMA officials the scopes of work and time frame.”

Felix Sablan, Villagomez’s point-of-contact for the project, added that “the logistics for this project is quite complicated, but we feel comfortable with what we have developed.”

Pending FEMA approval of the entire project worksheet, it is anticipated that the project will start on Oct. 18 and completed by Nov. 4.

Sablan said: “Public education is critical so I have asked Mr. Peter Callaghan, our PIO, to develop a public advisory informing the general public on how to separate their disaster related debris, and the dates the government will come to pick them up. Depending on the availability of contracted equipment and manpower, the pickup schedule will be updated twice a week and disseminated to the public.”

Disaster cleanup and recovery efforts in the Northern Marianas continue in the aftermath of Supertyphoon Chaba. Although the initial peak of debris spawned by this disaster has been recovered, and subsequently stockpiled or diverted through recycling efforts, it has been determined that a significant amount of typhoon debris remains on private lands and residential areas.

For purposes of this project, the DPW Division of Solid Waste Management has recommended that disaster-related debris to be collected in the villages be separated into three categories: green waste, metal debris, and all others.

Steve Hiney, the DPW Solid Waste Management division manager, said that between Aug. 23 and Sept. 22, the CNMI collected, separated, stored or diverted for recycling an estimated 30,000y3 of debris from typhoon Chaba. In the same period, the scales at the Marpi Landfill and at the Lower Base Refuse Transfer Station on Saipan recovered 941.13 tons of debris.

“Using information gathered from the American Red Cross, FEMA, DPW, DLNR, and through numerous site inspections, we have determined that there is roughly 15,000y3 of debris (50 percent of the total) that remains to be collected from villages on Saipan and 3,000y3 in Rota,” said Hiney.

The actual total quantity of debris that remains to be collected from typhoon Chaba will be recorded in the same manner and will be submitted to FEMA as part of the reimbursement documentation. Recovery efforts on Tinian are nearly complete and will not be included in the project work plan.

To ensure that the proposed debris removal project complies with the public assistance eligibility criteria, FEMA requires that all work either eliminate immediate threats to lives, public health and safety; eliminate an immediate threat of significant damage to improved public or private property; or ensure economic recovery of the affected community to the benefit of the community-at large.

Residents in each village will be responsible for separating their typhoon debris into the three categories mentioned above. These piles will be collected curbside by teams of personnel and equipment tasked with collecting and hauling one of the three types of debris mentioned above. Teams will consist of equipment operators, laborers and inspectors. Two temporary staging areas for burnable/grindable debris will be established: one in Kagman and one in As Lito.

Additional manpower and equipment will be needed at these waste disposal facilities to sort and manage the influx of typhoon debris during the time frame for this project. Based on estimated quantities and the number of homes in each of the 13 segments on Saipan to be serviced, time frame to compete this project is presently estimated to be complete within 44 days from the start date.