Unsightly debris that has plagued mountain rivers since Helene’s destructive flooding Sept. 27 will be removed by June 1, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Friday, and that includes downed trees and vegetation as well as vehicles, appliances and other storm debris.

“So we’ve got pretty clear guidance from the state as well as FEMA, in terms of our target goals, to get this mission completed,” Corps Col. Brad Morgan told a press gathering Friday afternoon at the Swannanoa River. “So the mission you see behind me, the waterway mission, our target for completion is June 1.”

That includes all waterways in 25 counties, Morgan said. In Buncombe County, that means the Swannanoa and French Broad Rivers, which were deluged with fallen trees, ruined vehicles, propane tanks and other detritus, are scheduled to be cleaned up by June 1.

The deadline for the Corps’ private property debris removal mission is June 30, Morgan said, and April 1 for right-of-way debris removal.

“So that’s very loud, that’s very clear — those are the dates that FEMA, the Corps of Engineers, and the state of North Carolina, as well as some of the other counties (that) are also using their own contracts, their own capability, to work the debris — we’ve all agreed to these dates, and we’re all working to push to meet those dates right now,” Morgan said.

Morgan said river debris removal work started in Buncombe County on Feb. 1, and 16,000 cubic yards of debris were cleared in six days along about two miles of river. The Corps estimates it will have to remove 1 million cubic yards of debris by June 1, although Morgan said that number will likely rise.

Morgan, as well as Rob Ray, a vice president with the primary debris removal contractor, AshBritt, and Buncombe County Solid Waste Manager Dane Pedersen, addressed the news conference. They previously had given elected officials and city and county officials a tour of the work.

They stood by the Swannanoa River off Old Farm School Road, where two large Ponsse timber machines crawled through the river behind them, snatching up fallen trees and limbs and placing them into a hopper for removal. 

“Obviously, we’re continuing to ramp up our staff and our crews,” Morgan said. “We expect to have 10 working by this weekend, with another 20 to 25 within the next week.”

Work on French Broad in RAD to begin soon

Work on the French Broad River in the River Arts District will start soon, but Morgan said because the river is deeper there they’ll have to bring in different types of equipment, including small barges. 

Morgan and Ray said contracts were in place before President Donald Trump visited Swannanoa on Jan. 24, issuing an executive order and vowing to speed up the recovery process. Trump’s order, and another from North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, helped expedite the work, Morgan said.

“FEMA provides me my mission assignments to the Corps of Engineers to do the work,” Morgan said. “So we were extremely close to getting to where we are today prior to the executive order, and that just helped us push over, break through some of those bottlenecks to get actually into what we’re seeing behind me.”

Morgan said the Corps has about $500 million in contracts in place right now for cleanup, “and I expect that number to continue to grow.”

Ray said the flood damage here is the worst he’s seen in 23 years in the industry. His company will double crews to 16 in the area in the coming week, meaning more than 250 workers will be on the cleanup job.

The job is difficult because of the mix of debris present in the river.

“You can very easily see all the woody debris, but in a lot of these piles of that woody debris, you’re going to find household hazardous waste,” Ray said. “You’re going to find crushed vehicles in the larger piles —  basically anything that’s in your home or in a building, we’re going to find in these streams.”

AshBritt has to separate the debris, recycle what’s possible and then take what remains to collection sites in Enka and Beacon Village.

Pedersen said so far about 1 million cubic yards of debris has been removed in Buncombe County.

Amanda Edwards, chair of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, termed the news “significant progress for Buncombe County.”

“I am grateful for the work of the Army Corps, AshBritt and the support from our federal and state officials for keeping their foot on the gas pedal and not forgetting that western North Carolina exists,” Edwards said. “And thank you to the residents of Buncombe County for your patience and reminding us how important this work is to recovery and to rebuilding Buncombe County back even stronger.”

Asked why it has taken more than four months to get the river debris rolling, Morgan said, “It’s been a combination of a multitude of things.” That includes securing permission from private property owners for the debris removal, securing proper entry to the river, conducting site and hazard assessments, and then securing contractors.

Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. John Boyle has been covering Asheville and surrounding communities since the 20th century. You can reach him at (828) 337-0941, or via email at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org. The Watchdog’s local reporting during this crisis is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.

Related