BY MATT WERNER DEBRIS MANAGEMENT PLANNING & PUBLIC ASSISTANCE

WINSTED, CT (1955)

MAIN STREET FLOODING

M&M SERVICES

JOPLIN, MO / MOORE, OK

HURRICANE SANDY

MORE SANDY

PHILADELPHIA

TONS OF DEBRIS Disaster Debris (Philadelphia Area) Event DateLocationDebrisCubic Yards Hurricane Hazel 1954Philadelphia AreaTrees375,000 Tropical Storm Allison 2001Philadelphia AreaBuilding350,000 Great October Gale 1878Philadelphia AreaBuilding280,000 Hurricane Floyd 1999Philadelphia AreaMixed160,000 Meridian Plaza Fire 1991Philadelphia, PAFire130,000 Hurricane Sandy 2012Philadelphia, PATrees5,000 Annual City Debris Source DateLocationDebrisCubic Yards City of Philadelphia Streets Sanitation 2011Philadelphia, PARubbish2,800,000 PWD Bio-solids Recycling 2011Philadelphia, PABio-solids600,000 City of Philadelphia Construction & Demolition Debris 2011Philadelphia, PAC&D587,000 City of Philadelphia Streets Sanitation 2011Philadelphia, PARecycling400,000

WHY PLAN FOR DEBRIS?

$8 Billion

THRESHOLDS DeclarationType of AssistanceThresholdTime to Request Emergency Declaration Category B, Direct Federal Assistance Varies, no pre-established threshold Typically prior to or within days of impact Major Disaster Declaration Public Assistance State: $17,656,307 (FY2014) Within 30 days of event Philadelphia: $5,341,021 (FY2014) Individual AssistanceVaries, no pre-established threshold Within 30 days of event SBA Declaration Physical Disaster Loan 25 households or businesses with at least 40% uninsured losses Within 60 days of event Economic Injury Loan 5 businesses with at least 40% of economic losses, as compared with same period from the prior year Within 120 days of event

$19 Million

$12 Million

CHALLENGES Complexity Coordination Public Expectations Reimbursement Community Recovery

FEMA DEBRIS GUIDELINES Poses a threat to life, public health, or safety Located on public property or in the ROW Generated by a major disaster event Removal ensures economic recovery Removal costs are “reasonable” / competitive Responsibility of the applicant Complete all debris activities within 6 months!

PLANNING PITFALLS

CAUTION FEMA 325 (“The Debris Bible”) Google “Best practices” Templates

PROBLEM VS. SOLUTION Be careful not to develop the wrong right answer.

CREEPING ALONG

POOR PLANNING = POOR OUTCOMES

LESSONS BORROWED

ECONOMICS

PLANNING VARIABLES Staffing Equipment Time Space Expertise Contractors Non-Profit State Agencies Federal Agencies Complex Rules

ECONOMICS & EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT Using limited resources efficiently? Maximizing potential resources to scale up? Leveraging our staff? Creating partnerships to enhance capabilities? Developing more flexible and responsive systems? Building redundancy into our plans?

Convene the right people Ask the difficult questions Develop new partnerships Address the gaps Implement at all levels Continuous improvement VALUE ADDED APPROACH

PHILADELPHIA’S APPROACH

PEER REVIEW Gulf Coast States Midwest “Tornado Alley” Houston Region Hampton Roads

DEBRIS IN PHILADELPHIA Debris Types C&D Trees Soil/Mud Inlets HazMat Garbage E-Waste Snow Putrescent Agencies L&I Parks Streets – Highways Streets – Sanitation Water Utilities Contractors Volunteers

ROLE OF PUBLIC WORKS

DEBRIS GROUP

PERFORMANCE METRICS Performance Goals Pre-Event Response Recovery

DECISION POINTS “Break Points” Event Type Space Equipment Contractors Functional Expertise

OPERATIONAL STRATEGIES 1.Interagency Coordination 2.City Executive Leadership Coordination 3.Debris Clearance 4.Debris Estimation 5.Public Property / Right-of-Way Debris Removal 6.Waterway Debris Removal 7.Hauling & Permitting 8.Private Property Demolitions 9.Debris Staging, Reduction, & Disposal 10.Contracting & Monitoring 11.Public Information

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT Temporary Debris Site Locations Transfer Station / Landfill Assessments Historical & Private Property Debris Regional Initiatives

LESSONS LEARNED

DESIGN REFLECTS INTENT “Design is the first signal of human intention.” – William McDonough

PLANS DO NOT MATTER “The presence of plans has no correlation to the improvement in disaster response. None.” -Managing Chaos: A Disaster Planner’s Handbook (2013)

IMPROVEMENT IS CONTINUOUS Debris is messy and complex Every event is a teaching moment Peers and private sector can inspire Public expects and deserves the best

MEASURING SUCCESS?

CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT Have we helped our stakeholders? Have we maximized the use of resources? Have we addressed the key gaps identified? Have we met our response / recovery metrics? What have we learned from recent events? How can we do better? Are we setting our stakeholders up for success?

INSPIRATION THROUGH PLANS Maximize the value to our stakeholders by: Asking the difficult questions Maximizing the use of resources Enhancing partnerships Expedite recovery timelines

LET’S NOT BECOME A CLICHÉ

THANK YOU