By Susan Jarvis
December 20, 2006

While the 2006 hurricane season was uneventful, the lessons learned from previous seasons should still be taken to heart. In his presentation “Disaster Recovery and Clean Up: You Don’t Have to Do It Alone,” Mike Carroll, Orlando Solid Waste Services Division Manager, gave Fall Summit participants a primer on hurricane preparedness. “Who should prepare for a natural disaster?” began Carroll.

Everyone who meets any of the following criteria:

• If you are within 200 miles of the Southeast coast (from the Potomac River to Texas);

• If you are in a flood prone area;

• If you are in an area that has had tornados or severe thunderstorms;

• If you are in an area that has ice storms;

• If you are near an active fault line;

• If you have a danger of wildfires; or

• If you have the potential for man-made disaster.

When deciding if you need help preparing, you should ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you sure you know how big a job you are facing?

• Can you clean it all up in less than two weeks?

• Can you pay for the clean up and disposal without help?

“Help can come in many forms, from planning and training to debris removal and FEMA reimbursement assistance. Help can also come from other jurisdictions, your disaster recovery contractors, consulting firms, your annual contractors, state emergency management offices and the federal government,” said Carroll.

“In Orlando, there is a debris manager and field operations center and debris contractors and a monitoring firm are pre-positioned. Orlando also conducts two training exercises every year. Your goal is to get your city back to normal as quickly as possible,” concluded Carroll.

Tom Henderson, Solid Waste Services Administrator for the District of Columbia, briefed attendees on the right approach to mutual aid. “Hurricanes are the last place to implement a mutual aid agreement. There will be widespread disaster and other local jurisdictions will have the same problems you do,” began Henderson. In Washington (DC) it took an Act of Congress to implement a mutual aid agreement between the District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland, known as the National Capitol Region. The mutual aid agreement covered police, fire and debris removal. The real key to good mutual aid agreements is training. In the National Capitol Region, all the municipalities train together, and speak the same language.

Mark Stafford, COO of DRC Inc., provided a private sector perspective on disaster recovery. According to Stafford, the biggest challenge for stand by contractors is personnel challenges. DRC has 300 stand-by contracts in Florida, procured from either an RFP or bid process. Stafford recommended municipalities look for the following things in their contractor: capacity to meet needs; ability to respond with adequate resources in a timely manner; and financial capacity to remain liquid when federal funds are delayed. Contractors need to meet and sustain payroll without FEMA funds. Take a look at some of the contract templates available, and cover all bases, which may include beach restoration and vehicle removal.

Veronica White, from New Orleans, briefed participants on some of the lessons she learned before, during and after Katrina. “You can never be prepared enough,” she began. Her first lesson: be self-reliant. Get a line item in the city budget for disasters and maintain that funding.

Learn how to appeal. In New Orleans, over 60 percent of the project work was headed to be appealed. While the city was without sewage for 3-4 weeks, White ordered 3,000 portable toilets. FEMA declined to reimburse the city for $3 million. The city won that appeal.

Finally, be patient. “Do what you can do and then start all over again.”

For more information, log onto the website www.usmayors.org/mwma.