HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.29.20 Email from Maria Hurtado -Butte County Debris Removal Request
From:Hurtado, Maria
To:"mark.ghilarducci.@caloes.ca.gov"
Cc:McCracken, Shari;Pickett, Andy;"Ryan.Buras@caloes.ca.gov";"paul@shawyoderantwih.com";
"kmore@tfgnet.com";Kim, Sang;Alpert, Bruce;Bennett, Robin;Clerk of the Board;Connelly, Bill;Cook, Holly;
Lambert, Steve;Lucero, Debra;McCracken, Shari;Paulsen, Shaina;Pickett, Andy;Ring, Brian;Ritter, Tami;
Rodas, Amalia;Sweeney, Kathleen;Teeter, Doug
Subject:Butte County Debris Removal Request
Date:Tuesday, September 29, 2020 4:19:18 PM
Attachments:Butte County Debris Removal Request 9.29.2020.pdf
Dear Mr. Ghilarducci,
Attached is a letter from Shari McCracken, Chief Administrative Officer for Butte County formally
requesting Phase I and II of debris cleanup for the North Complex Fire.
Thank you for your consideration.
Kind regards,
Maria Hurtado
Administrative Analyst, Senior
Butte County Office of Emergency Management
25 County Center Drive, Suite 213, Oroville, CA 95965
Tel: (530) 552-3326
Twitter | Facebook | You Tube | Pinterest
Butte County Administration Shari McCracken
Chief Administrative Officer and Clerk of the Board
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200 T: 530.552.3300
buttecounty.net/administration
Oroville, California 95965 F: 530.538.7120
Members of the Board
Bill Connelly | Debra Lucero | Tami Ritter | Steve Lambert | Doug Teeter
September29,2020
MarkGhilarducci,Director
CaliforniaDƚǝĻƩƓƚƩƭOfficeofEmergencyServices
3650SchrieverAve.
Mather,CA956554203
Subject:RequestforDebrisRemoval(NorthComplexFire,FEMA4558DR)
DearMr.Ghilarducci:
Asyouareaware,theNorthComplexFirehasdevastatedButteCounty.OnAugust18,2020,GovernorNewsom
issuedaProclamationofaStateofEmergencyinCaliforniaduetowildfiresburningstatewide,includingtheBear
FireandClaremontFire.OnAugust22,2020,PresidentTrumpdeclaredthewildfiresinCaliforniaadisaster.On
September8,2020,theBearFireandClaremontFiremergedandprogressedintoButteCountytobecomethe
NorthComplexFire.OnSeptember9,2020,ButteCountyAssistantChiefAdministrativeOfficerissuedalocal
emergencyproclamation,whichwasratifiedbytheButteCountyBoardofSupervisorsonSeptember15,2020.On
September11,2020,ButteCountyLocalHealthOfficer,Dr.RobertBernstein,issuedalocalhealthemergency
declarationregardingthepublichealth,safetyandwelfareconcernsassociatedwithstructuralashanddebris,
whichwasalsoratifiedbytheButteCountyBoardofSupervisorsonSeptember15,2020.OnSeptember14,2020,
ButteCountywasaddedtothefederaldisasterdeclarationfortheCaliforniawildfires.
AsofSeptember27,2,342structuresintheunincorporatedcommunitiesofButteCountyhavebeendestroyedby
theNorthComplexFire,including1,523residential,59commercialand760otherstructures.Anadditional113
structuresweredamaged.TheNorthComplexFiredevastatedsignificantportionsoftheunincorporated
communitiesinButteCounty,includingbutnotlimitedtoBerryCreek,BrushCreekandFeatherFalls.Clearing
debrisfromthesepropertieswillbecriticaltothehealthofourcommunities,rebuildingeffortsandtheeconomic
recoveryoftheserural,unincorporatedcommunities.Inaddition,thelatestdevastationcompoundstheeconomic
impactstotheregionalreadyexperiencedduetotheCampFireandCOVID19.
SimilartotheCampFire,theNorthComplexFirecoveredalargeforestedarea.TotalacreageburnedinButte
CountyasofSeptember29isestimatedtobe96,014acres,muchofwhichwascoveredbytrees.ButteCountyhas
reportedtoCalOESandFEMAthathazardoustreesandlimbsfromtheNorthComplexFireposeathreattothe
safetyofthegeneralpublic,therebyaffectingtheeconomicrecoveryandpublicatlarge.
AsindicatedinthePublicAssistanceProgramandPolicyGuide(PAPPG),version4andeffectiveJune1,2020,debris
removalincludesclearance,removalanddisposalactivitiesthatareinthebestinterestofthepublicwhenthework:
ͻ9ƌźƒźƓğƷĻƭimmediatethreatstolives,publichealth,andsafety;Eliminatesimmediatethreatsof
significantdamagetoimprovedpublicorprivateproperty;Ensureseconomicrecoveryoftheaffected
communitytothebenefitofthecommunityatlarge;orMitigatesrisktolifeandpropertybyremoving
SubstantiallyDamagedstructuresandassociatedstructures,ĻƷĭ͵ͼ
AdebrisremovalprogramasdescribedbelowtoaddressthedevastatingimpactsoftheNorthComplexFirewould
meeteachofthecriteria.
Scopeof
PropertyInclusion
ButteCountyrequestsFEMAincludethefollowingpublicandprivatepropertytypesinbothPhaseIandIIofdebris
removal:
Residential
Commercial
Specialdistricts,andothergovernmentalandpublicagencies
PrivateNonprofits
PublicroadsandRightsofWay
PhaseIΑHouseholdHazardousWaste
HouseholdhazardouswasteremovaltobecompletedbytheDepartmentofToxicSubstancesControl(DTSC)is
criticalinresolvingpartoftheemergencyconditionsinButteCountyandweappreciatethatprocesswillbeginin
thenearfuture.WerequestthatPhaseIincludealleligiblepropertieswhetherprivateorpublic,asdetailedinthe
ScopeofPropertyInclusionsectionabove.
PhaseIIΑDebrisRemovalincludingVegetativeDebris
ButteCountyrequeststheremovalofdebrisonpropertiesintheScopeofPropertyInclusionabove,asstatedin
thePAPPG,whichͻźƓĭƌǒķĻƭbutisnotlimitedto,vegetativedebris,constructionanddemolitiondebris,sand,mud,
silt,gravel,rocks,boulders,whitegoods,andvehicleandvesselǞƩĻĭƉğŭĻ͵ͼ
Inaddition,ButteCountyrequeststhefollowingexplicitlyidentifieddebrisremoval:
Clearingandremovalofstructuralfiredebrisandashfromqualifyingstructuresincluding:
o Earthbeneaththeashfootprintuptotheamountrequiredtomeetsoilbackgroundstandards.
o Soilsamplingafterashandrequiredsoilhasbeenremovedfromtheashfootprint.
VegetativedebrisasstatedinthePAPPGͻƒğǤincludetreelimbs,branches,stumps,ortreesthatarestill
inplace,butdamagedtotheextenttheyposeanimmediateƷŷƩĻğƷ͵ͼTherefore,ButteCountyrequests
thefollowing:
1
o Identification,removalanddisposalofeligiblevegetativedebrisintheRightofWay(ROW)orthat
endangersotherpublicimprovedproperty.
o Identification,removalanddisposalofeligiblevegetativedebrisonallprivatepropertyunlessthe
debrisisinanaturalareathatdoesnotextendoverimprovedpropertiesorpublicuseareas.
CoordinationofdebrisandremovalsothatoneRightofEntry(ROE)agreementcanbeusedbothfortime
andcostefficiency.
ProvidePublicAssistancefundingforpublicoutreachandprocessesassociatedwithacquiringROE
agreementsforeligibleproperties.
1
AsstatedinthePAPPG,page99,ͻwĻƒƚǝğƌofdebrisfromimprovedpublicpropertyandpublicrightsofway(ROWs),includingFederal
aidroads,isĻƌźŭźĬƌĻ͵ͼ
2