Government

Town extends debris policy again

 

PETER BOODY PHOTO | Trees wrecked like the one above and debris from waterfront structures damaged by Hurricane Sandy can be recycled — if approved — by the town free of charge through the New Year.

Brush and debris left by Hurricane Sandy will be accepted without a fee until the end of the year at the town Recycling Center but workers there are on the lookout for people abusing the grace period to get rid of leaves and other waste not associated with the storm.

A week ago, the Town Board agreed to extend the no-fee policy for storm debris — which includes tree branches and construction debris from broken docks and bulkheads — for one week until the end of the day  Tuesday.

At the Town Board work session Tuesday, members agreed with Public Works Commissioner Jay Card’s suggestion to continue accepting wood and brush through the end of the year and construction debris on a case-by-case basis indefinitely into 2013. Proof is being required, however, to show that any pieces of dock or bulkhead are storm debris and not merely old and worn out components of structures that needed replacement anyway.

“Somewhere we have to draw the line,” Mr. Card said at the November 27 work session, “on what’s storm damage and what’s just an old dock” somebody wants to get rid of for free.

Recognizing that clean-up and dock and bulkhead reconstruction might not happen for many months at some properties — even with a special expedited permit process in effect — the board a week ago agreed to consider creating a “pre-approval” policy under which the fee for storm debris would continue to be waived, as long as the town receives proof it is storm related. That means photographs or a visual inspection by a town employee or official.

Mr. Card reported that the Recycling Center had received 208 tons of construction debris related to the storm as of the morning of November 27 and 1,968 tons of “vegetative” debris — trees limbs, trunks, stumps and chipped and shredded wood. No leaves are accepted for free. Some loads have been sent to the scale house, where a fee is levied based on weight, because town employees believed they were not storm related, Mr. Card told the board.

This week he reported the flow of debris is slowing down, with 9.5 tons of structural debris coming in since last week and 45 tons of vegetative debris.

The town has to pay for disposing of the debris at a location in Brookhaven Town, Mr. Card said. The costs will be submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for reimbursement under the federal disaster relief program in effect for Hurricane Sandy.