Debris-management plan seen as model

Mass Innovations, From The Beacon, September 2011

A plan developed by Westborough for dealing with the aftermath of a natural disaster drew renewed attention this summer as local officials in Hampden and Worcester counties grappled with the task of disposing of vast amounts of tornado-generated debris.

The “Disaster Debris Management Plan” formulated by Westborough in 2008 was not directly useful to the cities and towns in the path of the June 1 tornadoes; creating such a plan takes time, a luxury that the stricken communities did not have. But according to John Fischer, a Department of Environmental Protection official who worked with Westborough on the model plan, the tornadoes demonstrated the value of having such a document in place.

The Westborough plan, developed with the help of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and other state agencies, lays out detailed procedures for the removal, disposal, and documenting of downed trees and debris from damaged buildings and other structures.

“It comes down to being prepared to respond more quickly and doing it more cost-effectively,” Fischer said.

Fischer added that plans for other towns would not necessarily be as detailed as Westborough’s, which runs to more than 40 pages, including appendices.

The Westborough plan was developed as a means of dealing with the aftermath of a Category 3 hurricane, with winds of up to 130 miles per hour.

According to Westborough Public Health Director Paul McNulty, who oversaw the project, local officials had the threat of tornadoes in mind as well. In 1953, Westborough was in the path of the worst tornado in the state’s history, which killed 94 people in Worcester and other central Massachusetts communities and left an estimated 10,000 people homeless.

“It’s better to do this kind of thing ahead of time,” McNulty said. “You can’t be running around to make sure that the insurance company is going to pay for things three months later when you’re trying to get some guy’s roof out of the road.”

Drawing on modeling developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Westborough came up with an estimate of the amount of debris that would be generated in the town by a Category 3 hurricane: close to 400,000 cubic yards, the majority of which would likely be from damaged or destroyed structures.

The modeling indicated that the town would need a minimum of 40 acres, comprising 24.5 acres of usable storage and processing space, in order to accommodate the debris. To achieve this goal, the plan designates 11 locations, including several ball fields and the Public Works Department grounds, as locations for the deposit of debris. Some of the sites are designated only for downed trees and other organic waste; other sites would accept demolition debris.

“It’s beyond the capability of the local transfer station to handle all that stuff,” McNulty said.

The Disaster Debris Management Plan also covers topics such as clearing access routes, coordinating public notices, and establishing contracts with state-approved debris removal companies and companies that monitor the removal.

For more information, contact Paul McNulty at (508) 366-3045.