Please read the following posts: and replay to each one separately in half a page, Don’t right one response for both in one post. please respond to the posts according to the 2 following questions:
1- Do you agree with their assessment of the policy/plan?
2- Why or why not?
Post 1:
”The State of Connecticut has a state wide debris management plan that most of the local communities have adopted for debris management at a local level. The Statewide plan is an annex to the State Natural Disaster Plan which specifically discusses the debris management portion of response and recovery. The plan focuses on natural disasters most likely to cause debris in our geographical region. The plan addresses hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, forest fires, earthquakes, ice and snow storms, as well as catastrophic events involving vegetative waste and animal mortalities. The plan lists some of the debris that would be found in Connecticut during natural disasters. “Natural disasters precipitate a variety of debris that includes, but is not limited to, trees, stumps, construction and demolition materials, vehicles and other personal property, putrescent food waste, and soil, silt and sediment” (p 1-1). The debris types are further broken down in section 4 of the plan.
The plan organizes how it will collect, sort, and dispose of debris in a logical sense. The debris types are divided into categories. There are 15 different categories (listed in chapter four) and each category has disposal methods with consideration of the Department of Environmental and Energy Preservation laws. I think the way that things are divided up seems to be comprehensive and easy for communities to follow. The plan also references FEMA rules for reimbursements, for example debris monitoring forms are available in the references because they are required for potential federal reimbursement for disaster debris management. There is also mention of the Stafford Act, as these laws “provide the criteria for determining eligibility of debris activities for reimbursements.” (p ES-7). FEMA will also cover the removal of vehicles that are presenting a hazard- I never knew this! (p 4-12)
The plan does make mention of some resources for debris management such as state recycling facilities, landfills, household hazardous waste permanent facilities, resources recovery facilities, leaf compost, scrap metal processors, etc. There is not much mention of human resources such as Community Emergency Response Teams which could be activated for assistance removing debris from major roadways and such. Overall, I think the State of Connecticut has a very thorough and comprehensive debris management plan. It is obvious that the plan has been revised and edited multiple times based on input from local government. The State has had its plans tested and retested in the last few years with hurricanes and snowstorms that top the record charts. As a whole, I would like to see the plan address local government a bit more. It seems that all of the plans are at a state or federal level but most local communities don’t have the capability of moving debris to locations for recycling that are several miles away.
For reference:
https://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/waste_management_and_disposal/debris_management/disasterdebrismanagementplan.pdf”
Post 2:
“Fairfield County in the state of Connecticut has a debris management plan that requires cities, towns and villages to develop their own debris management plans as well. Overall I think this is a very thorough plan that breaks down the whole debris management process encompassing most if not all aspects of debris and it’s removal, collection and removal. This policy talks about how to handle, natural, manmade, and technological disasters. These may include, hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes and snowstorms for the communities involved in this plan. It is discussed in the Assignment Of Responsibilities how different departments are accountable for different types of waste and to help the community discard of them correctly and effectively, some of the departments are Fairfield County recycling and litter prevention, the health district, county engineer, Pine Grove Landfill Inc., and Ohio EPA representatives. The breakdown of debris types, collection, reduction and disposal are discussed under the Determination of Appropriate Strategy, and debris removal operations part of the plan. These parts of the plan don’t just tell what to do but how to do them and what to expect as well as what not to do or accept in this line of management. The Fairfield County plan does mention FEMA standards and rules throughout their plan as well as listing the debris activities that are eligible for Direct Federal Assistance. However the plan does not involve specifics on the reimbursement and debris management. Human resources are talked about in the contracting and assignments sections, going into detail the dos and don’ts of contractors and employees as well as the public. Physical resources are planned for example, the locations of the debris management sorting facilities and mapping out where each type of waste will go and how it will get there and what they will do with it. Like most plans I’ve seen there are steps to manage the debris but no specifics. Each department or group of people is entrusted with tasks to complete that have their own plans with specific equipment, rules and regulations in them. I learned a lot from the plan, I like that at the end of this plan there are the charts and maps and everything in front of you so you can visualize and plan out the scenarios of debris management. My overall assessment of the plan is good, I enjoyed looking at it and seeing all of the different components come together that make the plan possible. It’s strengths are including a variety of departments to take part in the plan and making sure that the waste is separated and disposed of properly. Its weaknesses are not including more specifics of departments and equipment for what and how they are used. A suggestion for this plan is promote more of the community education aspect in teaching residents about debris management and removal to better prepare them if they are in need of activating and using the plan.”