FEMA, Army Corps, DPW launch residential debris removal campaign in San Antonio

The residential debris removal campaign for Super Typhoon Sinlaku officially began last May 13 in San Antonio, with the CNMI government, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency starting cleanup operations at an unauthorized debris staging site.

Department of Public Works Secretary Ray N. Yumul said crews have already begun hauling away typhoon-generated waste as part of a Saipan-wide recovery effort.

“So, we’ve started the debris cleanup. Army Corps of Engineers and their primary contractor have started the process of removing the waste generated by Super Typhoon Sinlaku,” Yumul said.

Standing near heavy equipment clearing debris piles in San Antonio, Yumul said the site had become an “unauthorized staging area,” but DPW coordinated with federal partners to ensure the waste would still be removed.

“But thankfully, I’ve worked out an understanding with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the contractor [of] FEMA, that we are going to clear this site of the typhoon waste,” he said. “As you can see behind me, we do have action now from the contractor’s sub-cons.”

Yumul said debris collection will move systematically from southern villages northward, beginning with Koblerville and San Antonio.

“We’ve worked out an arrangement where we’re working from the south to north movement,” he said. “We started with the Koblerville, San Antonio areas to include some of the densely populated areas like in Chalan Kanoa.”

He added that a large debris pile near Mount Carmel Cathedral is also being cleared.

Yumul urged residents not to continue dumping debris at sites that have already been cleaned.

“We ask the community that once we’ve cleared the area, to please don’t deposit any typhoon waste here anymore because we don’t want to burden the process,” he said.

He encouraged homeowners with remaining storm debris to place it near public rights-of-way for pickup.

Yumul also raised concerns about illegal dumping of non-typhoon waste.

“As you can see behind me, we actually have a concern here because there’s a lot of debris that are actually not typhoon-related,” he said. “We see a lot of commercial appliances. We see water heaters that have been sitting for years. Even tires that technically are not caused by the typhoon.”

He clarified that only typhoon-related debris such as vegetative waste, appliances, electronics, sheet metal, and construction and demolition debris should be placed for collection.

“Commercial appliances, commercial equipment, those really are not typhoon-related debris,” Yumul said. “We ask the business owners to please bring that up to the recycling businesses.”

Yumul said DPW has waived disposal fees for residential solid waste dropped off at the Lower Base Transfer Station and Marpi landfill.

“For the community residential drop-off of municipal solid waste, I have waived the fees,” he said. “So any private resident that wants to bring the trash up to the Lower Base Transfer Station or the Marpi landfill, you can do so without being charged fees for that.”

The DPW secretary also announced plans for “Project SWEEP,” or the Saipan-Wide Environmental Enhancement Program, which aims to conduct final cleanup operations in neighborhoods after FEMA debris removal is completed.

“We’re working aggressively for that endeavor, and when we’re done, we should have Saipan cleared,” he said.

Yumul said he has also offered assistance to Tinian and Rota officials if they wish to establish similar cleanup programs.

“Our goal again is we want to clean our islands of waste caused by the typhoon,” he said. “We want to get back to the way things were, right? Back to some sense of normalcy.”

He also appealed for patience and cooperation from residents as federal recovery teams continue operations throughout the CNMI.

“Please also, for those that are wary about the properties being visited by federal staff, please welcome them into your homes,” Yumul said. “They’re there to assist.”

Yumul additionally thanked nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and private businesses assisting recovery efforts, including Saipan Shipping and Matson, Inc. for donating ice and water to field crews working in the heat.