Tornado Debris Removal – Next Steps

Tornado Debris Removal – Next Steps

This is a public service announcement from the City of Rowlett for any that may not have seen it yet or have not been otherwise informed.

Now that the Public Assistance piece of the Federal disaster declaration is in place, the City has contracted with Crowder Gulf, a vendor specializing in disaster debris removal, sorting and disposal, all to specific criteria and guidelines so that our community is well positioned to qualify for FEMA reimbursement of this cost.

On Monday, February 15, residents in the affected area will see Crowder Gulf trucks begin their first pass, which will take approximately 30 days. These are VERY large trucks, holding 150 cubic yards of debris each, 10-12 times the capacity of the City trucks currently in use! Please be aware that temporary road closures may occur in neighborhoods for safety reasons.

Debris to be removed includes hazardous waste, “white goods” (i.e. stoves, refrigerators, electronics, other appliances), storm debris and vegetative debris.

Please adhere to these debris separation and placement guidelines:
• Do not place debris in driveways or alleys.
• All debris MUST be placed off the street but in the right-of-way (area behind the curb). If the debris extends past the sidewalk into your yard (private property), it will not be removed.
• Debris should be separated as demonstrated in the graphic attached to this post.
• Place debris away from obstacles such as mail boxes, water meters and fire hydrants.

Please note, material which will NOT be picked up includes:
• Concrete slab demo debris;
• Contractor debris;
• Swimming pool demo debris.

Volunteers: please consolidate smaller piles into bigger piles as demonstrated in the graphic attached to this post. Those doing tear-downs, please make contiguous piles beginning at the curb line.

After the first pass is complete, inspections of the area will take place and another round of clearing will occur to remove any debris missed or additional debris accumulated during the first round.

I have a neighbor, 2 doors down, that have already cleaned out everything from their home that was ruined during the tornado and following huge rain and dumped beside the alley once, and the city was gracious enough to go ahead and pick the junk up, even though it was improperly placed.

After the contractors did the roof and siding they again dumped the debris beside the alley.

I hope the City is a lot less gracious this time.