Although debris removal is generally statutorily excluded from National Environmental Policy Act review, FEMA must ensure compliance with other Federal laws, regulations, and Executive Orders prior to funding the work.
Accordingly, FEMA must ensure that the Applicant's debris removal operations avoid impacts to floodplains, wetlands, federally listed threatened and endangered species and their critical habitats, and historic properties (including maritime or underwater archaeological resources if waterways are impacted).
The Applicant must stage debris at a safe distance from property boundaries, surface water, wetlands, structures, wells, and septic tanks with leach fields.
When debris removal has been completed, there may be additional site remediation work required at debris staging areas to put it back to pre-disaster condition.