[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 79 (Wednesday, April 24, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17160-17161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08305]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OLEM-2017-0657; FRL-9992-46-OLEM]
RIN 2050-ZA11


Planning for Natural Disaster Debris Guidance

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing 
the availability of a final guidance entitled, Planning for Natural 
Disaster Debris. The Planning for Natural Disaster Debris guidance is 
intended to assist communities in planning for debris management before 
a natural disaster occurs (also referred to as ``pre-incident debris 
management planning''). This guidance revises EPA's existing guidance 
document on planning for natural disaster debris that was published in 
2008 under the same name. Pre-incident planning can significantly aid 
decision-making during a response and enhance a community's resiliency. 
Pre-incident planning can help communities recover faster, spend less 
money on cleanup and debris/waste management, and use fewer resources 
to rebuild and recover.

DATES: The announcement of the guidance is published in the Federal 
Register on April 24, 2019.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID

[[Page 17161]]

No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2017-0657. All documents in this docket are listed in 
the www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., confidential business 
information (CBI) or other information for which disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted 
material, is not placed on the internet and will be publicly available 
only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are 
available either electronically at www.regulations.gov or in hard copy 
at the EPA Docket Center Reading Room. Please see https://www.epa.gov/dockets/epa-docket-center-reading-room or call (202) 566-1744 for more 
information on the Docket Center Reading Room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melissa Kaps, Office of Resource 
Conservation and Recovery (5304P), Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 
703-308-6787; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Planning for Natural Disaster Debris Guidance

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) final Planning 
for Natural Disaster Debris guidance provides planning suggestions and 
considerations to assist the whole community (i.e., all governmental, 
private, nonprofit, community, and other stakeholders) in preparing for 
debris management before a natural disaster occurs. Communities that 
may benefit from the advice presented in this document include those 
that are currently without a debris management plan, are in the 
beginning stages of the debris management planning process, or have 
existing debris management plans that are not comprehensive or have not 
been updated with new information. Plans should be updated regularly to 
keep the information current (e.g., record reductions in existing 
disposal capacity, include innovative reuse or recycling 
opportunities), as well as exercised to ensure that the whole community 
remains familiar with their roles and responsibilities in the 
implementation of the disaster debris plan.
    Updating the 2008 version of EPA's Planning for Natural Disaster 
Debris, this guidance adds information drawn from communities' 
experiences with natural disasters, including hurricanes, earthquakes, 
tornadoes, volcanoes, floods, wildfires, and winter storms, and 
provides more planning recommendations, resources, and lessons learned 
for managing natural disaster debris. Also, this guidance walks through 
EPA's pre-incident debris management planning process. This process has 
four steps to help prepare communities for effective debris management: 
(1) Conduct pre-planning activities; (2) develop a comprehensive pre-
incident debris management plan; (3) keep the debris management plan 
updated; and (4) implement the debris management plan during a natural 
disaster.
    Natural disasters generate large amounts of debris that communities 
must manage to fully recover from the disaster. Debris management is 
often one of the biggest costs for a response, and recovery is not 
complete until all debris has been managed. Pre-incident debris 
management planning can significantly aid decision-making during a 
natural disaster by allowing important analyses and considerations to 
be made in advance, i.e., not during a disaster response. Pre-incident 
planning can also enhance a community's resiliency by, for example, 
identifying (and mitigating) potential debris sources in advance. In 
the event of a disaster, a more resilient community generates less 
debris to manage and contains fewer hazardous materials that may pose 
an increased risk to human health and the environment if released. 
Resilient communities recover faster, spend less money on cleanup and 
debris management, and use fewer resources to rebuild and recover. 
Effective planning addresses source reduction and hazard mitigation 
activities to reduce the amount and toxicity of debris generated by a 
natural disaster; strategies for reuse and recycling of materials to 
minimize the environmental and economic impact of debris management 
activities; and issues and considerations beyond initial debris removal 
[for example, characterizing and processing (e.g., volume reduction, 
refrigerant removal) debris for proper management, tracking debris from 
the original deposited point to its final destination, communicating 
with the public about debris collection and other management 
activities]. For these reasons, EPA believes it is critical that 
communities include debris management planning in their overall 
preparation for natural disasters.
    A copy of the final guidance can be found on EPA's website at 
https://www.epa.gov/homeland-security-waste/guidance-about-planning-natural-disaster-debris.

    Dated: April 4, 2019.
Barnes Johnson,
Director, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery.
[FR Doc. 2019-08305 Filed 4-23-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P