With recent rain overflowing rivers and streams in our region, those waterways are being filled up with wood and debris.If your home is near a waterway full of waste because of the historic floods, the Department of Environmental Conservation said who people should reach out to for assistance depending on the severity of the damage.The DEC said if the need is immediate, residents should hire a contractor.That contractor needs to be approved by the resident’s town first, though.”They are able to hire a contractor to do that work as an emergency protective measure, but that’s got to be authorized by the town,” said John Schmeltzer, VT DEC deputy commissioner. “If you feel something needs to be addressed immediately, contact your town to alert them of the issue. They’re required to report in 72 hours to us.”Contractors like Myers Waste and Recycling have been working around the clock since the floods occurred. “Our men have been working six days a week, working overtime, pitching wherever we can, pulling a lot of debris out of a lot of communities,” said Joe Sinagra, Myers Waste and Recycling sustainability director. Sinagra said his crew doesn’t physically go into the water to gather the debris, but once the waste is out of the water, they’re able to take it away from the property.”We are cleaning up debris as it’s being brought out as homeowners, people from the state, and FEMA are putting it into containers for us to pull away,” Sinagra said.Singra said then sometimes that waste could be repurposed.”If it’s construction debris, we’re seeing a lot of sheetrock, shingles, wood, and stuff like that comes to our recycling center,” Singra said. “We’re able to recycle it and turn it into things like road base, asphalt, chipped wood, and stuff like that. One positive out of all this is we’re going to reuse some of that product. Other products will either go to the landfill in Coventry.”DEC said if the need isn’t immediate, people can reach out to them.In most cases, they’ll schedule a river management engineer to assess the issue and provide advice on the next steps.”To ensure that whatever measures are needed to protect your property are done in a matter that doesn’t cause adverse effects to neighboring properties or down streams,” Schmeltzer said.To schedule an appointment with a DEC engineer, they ask people to send their name, email address, phone number, and full address, including town name to anr.wsmdrivers@vermont.gov. If you are interested in financial assistance, click here to learn more about the Emergency Watershed Protection grant program.
With recent rain overflowing rivers and streams in our region, those waterways are being filled up with wood and debris.
If your home is near a waterway full of waste because of the historic floods, the Department of Environmental Conservation said who people should reach out to for assistance depending on the severity of the damage.
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The DEC said if the need is immediate, residents should hire a contractor.
That contractor needs to be approved by the resident’s town first, though.
“They are able to hire a contractor to do that work as an emergency protective measure, but that’s got to be authorized by the town,” said John Schmeltzer, VT DEC deputy commissioner. “If you feel something needs to be addressed immediately, contact your town to alert them of the issue. They’re required to report in 72 hours to us.”
Contractors like Myers Waste and Recycling have been working around the clock since the floods occurred.
“Our men have been working six days a week, working overtime, pitching wherever we can, pulling a lot of debris out of a lot of communities,” said Joe Sinagra, Myers Waste and Recycling sustainability director.
Sinagra said his crew doesn’t physically go into the water to gather the debris, but once the waste is out of the water, they’re able to take it away from the property.
“We are cleaning up debris as it’s being brought out as homeowners, people from the state, and FEMA are putting it into containers for us to pull away,” Sinagra said.
Singra said then sometimes that waste could be repurposed.
“If it’s construction debris, we’re seeing a lot of sheetrock, shingles, wood, and stuff like that comes to our recycling center,” Singra said. “We’re able to recycle it and turn it into things like road base, asphalt, chipped wood, and stuff like that. One positive out of all this is we’re going to reuse some of that product. Other products will either go to the landfill in Coventry.”
DEC said if the need isn’t immediate, people can reach out to them.
In most cases, they’ll schedule a river management engineer to assess the issue and provide advice on the next steps.
“To ensure that whatever measures are needed to protect your property are done in a matter that doesn’t cause adverse effects to neighboring properties or down streams,” Schmeltzer said.
To schedule an appointment with a DEC engineer, they ask people to send their name, email address, phone number, and full address, including town name to anr.wsmdrivers@vermont.gov.
If you are interested in financial assistance, click here to learn more about the Emergency Watershed Protection grant program.
