Welcome to Skagit County

January 29, 2004

SKAGIT COUNTY FLOOD CLEAN UP EFFORT YIELDS 690 TONS OF SOLID WASTE

SKAGIT COUNTY – During the October 2003 Skagit River Flood hundreds of residents had damaged household goods such as appliances, furniture, carpeting and building materials. “Operation Cleanup,” administered by Skagit County Public Works Solid Waste Section collected 691 tons of flood-related garbage at a cost of approximately $135,000.

Skagit County recently submitted these statistics to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for reimbursement of costs. “Skagit County made every effort to remove unwanted and damaged debris as quickly as possible after the flood,” said Gary Sorensen, Solid Waste Section Manager.

Under the provisions of the declared federal disaster, FEMA will reimburse Skagit County 75 percent of a portion of this cost. “Even if we receive the reimbursement, Skagit County will likely be responsible for about $50,000 of this cost, which will be paid directly from our solid waste fund,” said Sorensen.

During the clean up effort in October and November, Skagit County staff asked residents with flood damaged material to set them on the roadside for free pick up. Containers were also placed at key locations to provide residents with convenient and assessable disposal. In addition, a staging area was established in Hamilton for damaged appliances and several hazardous material locations were operated. A total of 495 appliances were picked up and recycled.

“We would like to thank all the church and community volunteers that helped out and the Town of Hamilton and Cape Horn Community for their help and cooperation, as well as Waste Management, Inc., Teris LLC, and Rick’s Refrigeration for making “Operation Cleanup” a success,” said Sorensen.

For further information, contact: Dan Berentson
Communications Director
360-419-3461