Palm Beach County
Board of County Commissioners to Adopt Debris Recovery Ordinance
Ordinance needed to obtain
FEMA reimbursement for collecting storm debris from private roads and
gated communities
The Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released guidelines identifying
the circumstances under which disaster debris from private roads and
gated communities may be eligible for reimbursement. In addition
to the fact that such collection must be necessary to serve a vital
public interest for the health, safety and welfare of the residents of
the County, the agency collecting the debris must have the right to
enter upon the property - in this case private as well as public roads
including gated communities - to collect and remove the disaster debris.
In order to comply with FEMA requirements, the SWA
amended its
Mandatory Collection Resolution, and the SWA and
Palm Beach County have worked together to draft the
Palm Beach
County Post-Disaster Debris Recovery Ordinance. The Ordinance
authorizes and directs the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County,
upon a declaration of a disaster pursuant to the provisions of the
County's Emergency Management Plan, to enter in and upon the public and
private roads, including gated communities, of the unincorporated areas
of the County to collect and remove debris.
The system for managing disaster debris in Palm Beach
County is unique. The SWA is a Dependent Special District created
by a Special Act of the Florida Legislature to manage solid waste
disposal for all of the municipalities and the unincorporated area, and
to manage solid waste collection in the unincorporated area. The
Special Act grants the SWA the authority to adopt a mandatory collection
program for solid waste, and the SWA entered into an Interlocal
Agreement with the County in 1988 to assume responsibility for solid
waste collection in the unincorporated area. The SWA has adopted a
Mandatory
Collection Resolution requiring all improved property in the
unincorporated area to participate in the SWA collection system.
This system includes nine franchise areas serviced by private haulers
under contract to the SWA. These contracts are five year exclusive
franchises awarded by a competitive bid process.
The Palm Beach County Comprehensive Emergency Management
Plan designates the SWA as the support agency responsible for disaster
debris management. To meet that responsibility, the SWA collects
debris from the unincorporated area, and operates debris management
sites to process disaster debris and prepare it for shipping to final
disposal. The SWA allows municipalities that execute an
Interlocal
Agreement with the SWA to deliver debris to SWA temporary debris
management sites. The Interlocal Agreements establish conditions
for delivery and require each municipality to pay its share of any
un-reimbursed operating and disposal costs.
To address the specific issue of collecting disaster
debris from private roads and gated communities, the SWA amended its
Mandatory
Collection Resolution on July 18, 2006, adding definitions and
criteria for declaring an emergency, establishing the right-of-entry to
collect disaster debris and authorizing collection from private roads
and gated communities. The amended Resolution also indemnifies
agencies that may reimburse the SWA for debris management costs from
liability which may result from the collection of disaster debris.
The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners
approved the
Palm Beach County Post-Disaster Debris Recovery Ordinance on
first reading on July 18, 2006. The final passage of the
Ordinance will maximize the probability that the SWA will be reimbursed
by FEMA for the cost of collecting disaster debris from private roads
and gated communities.
For more information on debris management in
unincorporated Palm Beach County, please click on the following links.
If you have any questions, please
email
us, or call SWA Customer Information Services at 561.697.2700 or toll-free
from southern and western Palm Beach County at 1.866.SWA INFO.
Important Links
Before,
During and After the Storm
FAQs
PBC Debris Management Plan
Palm Beach County
Division of Emergency Mgmt.
FEMA
Florida Division of Emergency Management
Florida Public Assistance Online Portal
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