Debris Removal Process

For all the latest information on Maui Recover's website regarding Fire Debris Removal, click here. Here is critical information focused on the most commonly asked questions:

About Fire Debris Removal

Fire Debris Removal is the removal of the remaining structural ash and debris and may include soil testing. The County of Maui, State of Hawai‘i, FEMA and local officials are coordinating with the U.S Army Corps of Engineers to offer a Consolidated Debris Removal Program. The program allows the Corps to conduct the safe removal and handling of fire-damaged debris from destroyed properties.

A private fire debris removal process will be established for those who want to opt out of the Consolidated Debris Removal Program. The County is currently working to develop the process, guidance documents and forms for private contractor fire debris removal and will have the information published soon.

How long will Debris Removal take?

The cleanup in Kula/Olinda took a few months, as the quantity of ash and debris was a small fraction of the amount in Lahaina. The cleanup in Lahaina will take the better part of 2024.

Phases of Fire Debris Removal

Fire debris removal is broken down into two phases:

Phase 1:

When Phase 1 was complete, EPA posted a sign on each property when hazardous waste removal was completed, and notified the broader community when hazardous materials removal was completed in an entire neighborhood. View EPA’s online resource tool, which provides information on their process, progress and completion status: bit.ly/EPAprogress​

Hazardous Materials Removal is the removal of hazardous materials that may impact human health, animals and the environment through exposure. In coordination with the County of Maui and the State of Hawai‘i, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assigned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to survey, remove and dispose of hazardous material from all properties impacted by the wildfires in Lahaina, Kula and Olinda.​Hazardous materials included compressed gas cylinders, pesticides, paints, oils, fertilizers, ammunition and batteries (including lithium-ion batteries, particularly household solar battery storage systems). These items can contain hazardous ingredients and require special handling and disposal.
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Phase 2:

Once a Right-of-Entry (ROE) form is signed for Phase 2, Army Corps employees contacts homeowners that are enrolled in the Consolidated Debris Removal Program via phone 24-48 hours in advance to provide notice of work start times. The Corps’ contractor is required to provide the Corps a formal report of completion. The Corps provides those reports to the county, and the county notifies homeowners. A Phase 2 map, showing progress, will be published once work gets underway.

Where has this happened before and what was done to clean up the impacted areas?

FEMA and USACE have dealt with similar situations in recent years in California, Colorado and New Mexico. Experiences and best practices from these incidents are being utilized by both agencies in supporting cleanup and recovery operations on Maui, which are similar to the approaches employed after those disasters.

Is there a possibility the temporary debris storage (TDS) site becomes the permanent disposal site for fire ash and debris?
No. The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) constructed the TDS to temporarily stage debris until the County of Maui constructs a permanent disposal site at the Central Maui Landfill.

Can the cleanup work and transport be conducted at night?

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No. The cleanup, transport and unloading efforts at the TDS would be less effective and unsafe to conduct during night-time hours for a variety of reasons. Trained archaeological and cultural monitors are present at every worksite and need adequate natural lighting to identify artifacts, archaeological features, and potential burial sites.  Cleanup crews walk around parcels during cleanup to visually identify ash and debris which may be left behind or unable to access by excavators. Artificial lighting has been discouraged for ecological reasons as bright lights are known to distract or disorient marine life, particularly nesting turtles, who are active at night. Further, excessive noise associated with night operations might also be disconcerting to nearby community members.  Finally, cleanup crews are working up to 12 hours/day, 7 days a week, and need time to rest and recharge before the next day’s shift.

How long will this whole process take?

‍The cleanup in Upcountry was completed in mid-January, as the quantity of ash and debris was a small fraction of the amount in Lahaina.  The cleanup and transfer of ash/debris from Lahaina into the TDS site will extend into January 2025.  Efforts are underway to expedite the planning, design and construction of a permanent disposal site (PDS) at the Central Maui Landfill, which could be completed in late 2024.

Residents will be contacted with their scheduled debris removal date 72 hours in advance. USACE contractors will place a sign on the property that indicates the status of their property through a checklist. It is our intent to also make the status available online. Property owners should be able to navigate to a map, input their address, and see the current status there.

Current estimates for USACE Phase 1 – 90 days. Phase 2 - 6-12 months.

Ash and debris will be removed from all impacted areas including public, residential and commercial areas.

• Foundations - Yes. Unfortunately, foundations will be removed. Due to the high heat of the fire, most foundations are structurally compromised, and cannot safely be rebuilt upon. Because of this, the debris removal program will be removing foundations as a part of the cleanup.
• Structural walls are eligible for removal, landscape walls not eligible. Structural walls are not removed if a structural engineer assessment shows they are sound.
• Vehicles/vessels, titled property. Titled property will be adjudicated and recycled.
• Driveways/Pathways - Generally not eligible unless within the ash footprint and will be cut at the point of being out of the ash footprint.
• Swimming Pools – Pools will be drained of ash and roped off in accordance with OSHA standards.

The cleanup in Upcountry was completed in mid-January, as the quantity of ash and debris was a small fraction of the amount in Lahaina. The cleanup and transfer of ash/debris from Lahaina into the TDS site will extend into January 2025. Efforts are underway to expedite the planning, design and construction of a permanent disposal site (PDS) at the Central Maui Landfill, which could be completed in late 2024.

Learn more about the entire Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Fire Debris Removal process.

Phase 1 is currently underway; EPA will post a sign on each property when hazardous waste removal is complete, and will also notify the broader community when hazardous materials removal is completed in an entire neighborhood. View EPA’s online resource tool, which provides information on their process, progress and completion status: bit.ly/EPAprogress  

Once a Right of Entry (ROE) form is signed for Phase 2, Army Corps employees will contact homeowners that are enrolled in the Consolidated Debris Removal Program via phone 24-48 hours in advance to provide notice of work start times. The Corps’ contractor is required to provide the Corps a formal report of completion. The Corps will provide those reports to the county, and the county will notify homeowners. A Phase 2 map, showing progress, will be published once work gets underway.

It is expected that Phase 2 will include debris and ash removal related to any structures on residential properties that are at least 120 square feet. Driveways will be retained as much as possible, both for possible reuse and to serve as a staging area for debris removal and rebuilding equipment. In many cases, concrete driveways have been weakened because of the heat from the fire and may crack easily during this phase.

Cost of Phase 2

If you had insurance in effect at the time of the wildfire that provides coverage for debris removal, it is required that those funds, if not used for rebuilding, go toward reimbursement of program costs. In most cases, the cost of debris removal will be greater than the insurance available. Reimbursement amount will not exceed the costs of debris removal on your specific property. If coverage for debris removal is not a separate insurance category, any reimbursement for debris removal will be limited to the unused benefit amount (if any) in that coverage category after the residence is rebuilt. If the full amount of general coverage is used for rebuilding, you will not be responsible for any reimbursement.
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If you participate in Phase 2 of the program, we recommend that you consult with your insurance carrier to confirm how much is dedicated to debris removal. If your site will require private debris removal in addition to what is covered under Phase 2 of the Consolidated Debris Removal Program, you can use your debris insurance proceeds to cover those costs, and will only be expected to provide the remainder (if any) to reimburse the Program. If you do not have insurance the Program will be provided at no cost.

Who will be paying for the cleanup and disposal operations?

FEMA will be supporting cleanup operations through the US ACE. The County of Maui will be supporting construction of the disposal facilities and will be charging a ‘tip fee’ per ton of ash and debris managed to the US ACE to support construction, operation and closure of the final containment areas at CML and West Maui.

In conjunction with a State request for assistance, EPA was tasked to conduct Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection and disposal to protect public health and safety in communities impacted by Maui Wildfires. HHW included but was not limited to paints, solvents, pesticides, batteries, propane tanks, and bulk asbestos-containing materials (ACM). In December, 2023 USEPA shipped a total of 253 tons of HHM and bulk ACM associated with USEPA Phase 1 operations off-island, including hazardous materials from US Coast Guard (USCG) Lahaina Harbor vessel removal operations, as well as 30 tons of deconstructed Lithium-Ion batteries from power walls and electric vehicles. As USACE is also participating in hazardous material removal efforts, they have shipped a total of 4 tons of HHM and bulk ACM and will continue to ship these materials off-island throughout their debris management mission.

See https://www.epa.gov/maui-wildfires/hazardous-materials-removal-phase-1 for details.

Also in conjunction with a state request for assistance, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) was tasked with the mission to directly support the Maui County Consolidated Debris Removal Program in the affected communities.  Objectives of this mission include both: 1. Reducing immediate threats to public health and safety, and 2. Expediting economic recovery of the affected communities.  To that end, these efforts will involve the removal of ash, burned home remains, hazardous materials, foundations, asbestos containing materials (ACM), vehicles, vessels, contaminated soil, and debris from commercial properties. Property Rights of Entry (ROEs) are required for USACE to conduct this phase of fire debris management.  Those who decide to opt out of this government program will have to hire their own contractors at the owner’s expense.

See https://www.poh.usace.army.mil/Missions/Emergency-Response/Hawaii-Wildfires/ for details.

USACE in phase 2 work will cut off and cap utilities in the home footprint if/when they are disturbed.

The wall will be removed to ground level.

Titled property goes through an adjudication process at the local level before it is cleared for disposal through our contracts. Property owners may indicate they would like to keep vehicles, in which case we would not remove them. Requests to keep vehicles, or other titled property/items, should be noted in the ROE.

Below ground pools are included as far as being drained, debris removed, and fenced off per OSHA standards. We won’t remove the actual pool itself.

The soil analysis includes personal identifiable information so it is not available in the public facing property closeout tool.  However, it is available to you.  Call the Army Corps Debris Call Center at 877-214-9117 and provide an email address where the soil report can be sent.

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