N E W S R E L E A S E COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

Dept. of Environmental Protection

Commonwealth News Bureau

Room 308, Capitol

Harrisburg, PA 17120

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Susan Rickens

(717) 787-1323

HARRISBURG (Jan. 23) -- The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is working with local governments and emergency management officials to provide for safe and quick disposal of flood debris and to provide over the telephone approvals for debris removal from streams to speed flood cleanup efforts.

DEP encourages communities to dispose of flood debris at landfills and other waste processing and disposal facilities the department has already permitted to accept such waste. Capacity does exist in these facilities for the safe, long-term disposal of debris, which will help avoid environmental problems commonly associated with temporary disposal sites.

DEP will work with communities and waste facility operators to quickly approve these requests and waive unneeded requirements.

For information on approved facilities and to request approvals, contact the Waste Management Manager in any of DEP's regional offices on the attached list.

DEP offers the following tips to help make debris disposal faster and safer:

* Avoid mixing wastes -- While most flood debris typically contains household items, trees and brush and demolition-type waste from buildings, it can also include harmful chemicals and other wastes that may have to be handled separately.

Debris should be visually inspected to avoid mixing tanks, barrels and other containers with harmful industrial chemicals and potentially hazardous wastes.

Household type cleaners, home pesticides, paints and chemicals can be safely disposed of in approved landfills and do not need to be separated from other debris.

* Temporary staging areas -- DEP will approve temporary staging areas for municipalities to facilitate the efficient collection and transportation of flood debris to licensed disposal facilities. Use common sense to select these facilities. If possible, they should have a hard surface, such as a parking lot to make placing debris, handling and final cleanup of debris easier.

* Open burning -- Open burning is an option for debris disposal; however, it may be the least desirable option for safely disposing of flood debris. DEP will consider requests to burn debris on a case-by-case basis, but only with the approval of the local government.

If open burning is used, devices known as air curtain destroyers are recommended to provide for more complete combustion. Call the regional DEP office near you for specific advice.

* Removal of debris from streams -- Anyone planning to remove debris from streams should check in with DEP first. DEP can give approvals over the telephone for the emergency removal of debris blocking streams, especially where the debris may cause water backups and the potential for more flooding. For larger debris areas or if you need advice on how to remove debris, DEP can quickly provide staff at your site to assist in determining the best way to remove debris.

Debris removal should be done as carefully as possible to avoid changing the stream channel or banks. A change to the channel or stream banks could cause more flooding problems in the future, especially for downstream neighbors, as well as environmental damage.

If stream dredging, stream bank or channel changes are proposed, emergency permit approval must be obtained from DEP.

* Document your costs -- Counties and local governments are reminded to document their costs for debris removal for later possible reimbursement by the federal government.

For information about the handling and disposal of flood debris, contact the DEP Regional Waste Management manager. For information about the emergency removal of debris from streams, contact Regional Water Quality manager at any of DEP's regional offices.

For more flood recovery information -- disinfecting private wells, reentering and cleaning homes and businesses, cleaning up home heating oil, reporting spills and other environmental emergencies -- contact any of DEP's regional offices or visit DEP's World Wide Web site at: http://www.dep.state.pa.us (choose Flood Recovery Information).

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(Attached is a list of DEP Regional Offices and contacts.)

Northwest Regional Office- Meadville

Regional Waste Management Manager- Patrick Boyle- 814-332-6848

Emergency Stream Debris Removal- David Milhouse- 814-332-6942

Counties: Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer, Venango and Warren

Southwest Regional Office- Pittsburgh

Regional Waste Management Manager- Tony Orlando- 412-442-4120

Emergency Stream Debris Removal- Tim Dreier- 412-442-4028

Counties: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Cambria, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland

Northcentral Regional Office- Williamsport

Regional Waste Management Manager- Richard Bittle- 717-327-3653

Emergency Stream Debris Removal- Dan Alters- 717-327-3669

Counties: Bradford, Cameron, Clearfield, Centre, Clinton, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour,

Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga and Union

Southcentral Regional Office- Harrisburg

Regional Waste Management Manager- Francis Fair- 717-657-4588

Emergency Stream Debris Removal- Leon Oberdick- 717-657-4590

Counties: Adams, Bedford, Berks, Blair, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry and York

Northeast Regional Office- Wilkes-Barre

Regional Waste Management Manager- William Tomayko- 717-826-2516

Emergency Stream Debris Removal- Kate Crowley- 717-826-2525 or 2511

Counties: Carbon, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Northampton, Pike, Schuylkill,

Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming

Southeast Regional Office- Conshohocken

Regional Waste Management Manager- Ronald Furlan - 610-832-6213

Emergency Stream Debris Removal- Joseph Feola- 610-832-6131

Counties: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia