Colorado Dept. of Health issues guidance on High Park Fire debris removal

In response to the major High Park Wildfire, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has been asked to provide guidance for dealing with homes damaged or destroyed by the fire.

Wildfire can create an unexpected emergency situation that warrants a rapid response. A prompt cleanup will enable residents to move forward with their lives while minimizing potential public health and environmental issues that may be exacerbated the longer the material is left in place, such as water contamination from runoff. In light of this situation, the department is temporarily waiving certain regulatory requirements that might otherwise apply.

The ash deposited by forest fires is relatively nontoxic and similar to ash that might be found in your fireplace. However, any ash may contain unknown substances, including chemicals. In particular, ash and debris from burned structures may contain more toxic substances than forest fire ash, because of the many synthetic and other materials present in homes and buildings. For example, car batteries or mercury light bulbs may have been present in the buildings. In addition, older buildings have a greater potential to contain asbestos and lead.

Care should thus be taken when handling any materials from buildings that are either partially damaged by the fire (i.e., salvageable building materials remaining) or completely destroyed by the fire (i.e., only ash and debris remain). Protective clothing and equipment should be worn to avoid skin contact and inhalation of ash and other disturbed material.

All debris and ash should be handled in a manner that will minimize potential exposure to any unknown hazardous materials that could potentially be present in the debris. Soil under the area where the ash/debris was deposited should be scraped to ensure that all ash and building debris has been removed from the site.

Materials must be thoroughly wetted to minimize dust, then packaged inside a 6-mil plastic sheeting liner and placed in an end-dump roll-off with the top of the roll-off sealed with the plastic sheeting to secure the contents during transport once the roll-off is loaded.

The roll-off can be taken to one of the landfills listed below. Please call the landfill contact listed below before loads are transported to alert the landfill that the material is coming, confirm waste acceptance, and initiate a waste profile. If you wish to bring the materials to a different landfill, please contact the landfill to ensure they can accept the material.

The landfill should be informed that the material has come from the fire area. Contractors should consult with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) at 303-844-5285 to determine required training and personal protective equipment that will be required for those handling this material.

A state-issued demolition permit is not required to remove the ash and debris from buildings that have been partially or completely destroyed. However, the ash and debris must be thoroughly wetted prior to handling to minimize dust.

If asbestos-containing material is known to be present in ash or debris in amounts greater than the trigger levels, they must be removed in accordance with Colorado Regulation No. 8, Part B. Trigger levels for single family residential dwellings are 50 linear feet on pipes, 32 square feet on other surfaces or the volume equivalent of a 55 gallon drum. If this is not known, the material may handled and disposed of using the procedures outlined above.

The following landfills are accepting High Park Wildfire ash, soils, and debris and waste materials known to contain friable asbestos. Additional landfills may be added to this list or may be contacted directly.

• LARIMER COUNTY LANDFILL
5887 South Taft Hill Rd.
Fort Collins, CO 80526
Steve Harem: 970-498-5770

• Republic Services Landfill, Inc.
ALLIED WASTE SYSTEMS
8480 Tower Road
Commerce City, CO 80022
Amy Hobbs: 720-490-0230
303-459-8752

• Denver Arapaho Disposal Site (DADS)
WASTE MANAGEMENT OF COLORADO
3500 S. Gun Club Road
Aurora
Jeff Sprowls: 720-947-2114
Jason Chan: 720-876-2633
303-598-1790
Gary Baldwin: 720-977-2104

• Buffalo Ridge Landfill
WASTE MANAGEMENT OF COLORADO
11655 WCR 59
Keenesburg
Jeff Sprowls: 720-947-2114
303-886-9693
Bill Hedberg: 1-970-686-2800, X23
1-970-418-8268
Gary Baldwin: 720-977-2104
303-618-0230

• Republic Services Landfill, Inc.
ALLIED WASTE SYSTEMS
8900 Hwy 93
Golden
Amy Hobbs: 720-490-0230
303-459-8752

The landfills list above and following landfills are accepting High Park Wildfire ash, soils, and debris that do not contain friable asbestos.

• Front Range Landfill
WASTE CONNECTIONS INC.
1830 Weld County Rd. 5
Erie
Brian Karp: 303-673-9431
720-839-6311
Jeff Burrier 303-673-9431
303-968-9508

• North Weld Landfill
WASTE MANAGEMENT OF COLORADO
40000 Weld county Rd. 25
Ault
Bill Hedberg: 1-970-686-2800, X23
1-970-418-8268

Metal debris must be washed clean of ash/debris prior to recycling. Concrete debris (foundations) must be disposed of at an approved landfill. If you wish to recycle this material, it must be inspected by a certified asbestos building inspector and found to be free of asbestos-containing materials prior to recycling.

Please contact Doug Ryan at the Larimer County Health Department at 970-498-6777 or — [email protected] or questions on additional county requirements.
Please contact Amy White at Larimer County Building and Code Enforcement 970-498-7708 or [email protected] to determine local permit requirements.
If you need additional information, please contact Charles Johnson at the Department’s Solid Waste Unit at 303-692-3348 or [email protected] , or the Asbestos Unit at 303-692-3100 or http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/ap/asbestos/index.html.