DEP Acts to Expedite Processing and Disposal of Flood Waste

State environmental officials have taken steps to make it easier to get rid of flood debris.  The Department of Environmental Protection is working to ensure flood debris is removed properly and as quickly as possible.   

DEP has allowing disposal sites to take flood debris from vehicles that do not have Act 90 authorizations and suspending state tipping fees to reduce the financial burden on homeowners. It’s honoring requests to increase daily volume and hours of operation at disposal sites and allowing counties to establish waste aggregation stations.  For all other municipal waste that’s received, the fees continue to apply, as do the facility’s and host municipality’s fees.

Secretary Michael Krancer says   people should separate out any household hazardous waste, because they do not want it included in this wave of visits to the landfill.    He says people should work with their local municipalities to get flood debris to the right place, so it’s disposed of timely and properly.

Disposing of waste in a timely manner will also help cut down on breeding ground for mosquitoes, among other potential problems. Krancer says the department is looking at doing some additional spraying for control of mosquitoes that can carry the West Nile Virus. He says to the extent that’s necessary, it will be done.  He says vector control is part of the strategy of response and recovery to the flooding.