Town of Hilton Head to fund debris removal for some poor communities denied by FEMA

The Town of Hilton Head Island announced Tuesday that it will fund Hurricane Matthew debris removal for some of the island’s poorest communities recently denied funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The town’s contractors will remove debris that remains on 72 private roadways located on the island’s north side, more than three months after Hurricane Matthew created widespread destruction on the island. This month, FEMA denied hurricane debris-removal reimbursement on these roads, arguing that many of them had less than the required 150 cubic yards of debris to qualify for reimbursement.

Many of the roadways are narrow dirt roads or connectors in communities with modest and manufactured homes. Much of the land is referred to as heirs’ property, or property given to the descendents of slaves during Reconstruction of the South following the Civil War.

Instead of appealing FEMA’s decision to deny funding, the town opted to fund cleanup for the 72 roads. Most of those roadways appeared not to have enough debris to qualify, town manager Steve Riley said.

After getting contractor estimates, the town estimates the project will cost about $50,000, up from an earlier estimate of $30,000, Riley said.

Originally, 111 roads were included in the submission to FEMA, but after removing roads that are already clear from the list, the town agreed to remove debris from 72 roads that still have storm-related damage, Riley said.

The town requests that affected residents move all storm-related debris to their roadway by next Tuesday. After that date, the town will begin coordinating the debris-removal efforts. Privately owned commercial roadways will not be included in the cleanup.

The roads that included are:

Adell Lane, Aiken Place, Alfred Lane, Alice Perry Drive, Allen Road, Amelia Court, Amelia Drive, Benjamin Drive, Betty P. Lane, Bligen Lane, Bloom Way, Blossom Place, Candy Doll Bluff, Capital Business Park, Capri Lane, Carlene Cove, Carters Manor, Ceasar Place, Chastain Court, Circlewood Drive, Clifford Miller Drive, Cobia Court, Corrine Lane, Crab Line Court, Creek Landing Trace, Deep Fording, Driftwood Lane, Duey Hill Drive, Eugene Drive, Falabella Manor, Farmers Club Drive, Freddies Way, Fuller Pointe Drive, Great Barracuda Lane, Hammack Oaks Circle, Hanahan Lane, Henry Lane, Horse Sugar Lane, Indian Pipe Lane, Julia Drive, Junior Trace, Lavender Circle, Little Garden Path, Little Harbour Manor, Mackeral Drive, Manatee Way, Mustang Lane, North Forest Beach Court, Oceanwood Trace, Olive Shell Court, Orage Lane, Outlaw Road, Palm Tree Place, Pastel Lane, Pine Field Road, Sadie Common, Sam Frazier Retreat, Sandcastle Lane, Sea Hawk Lane, Sea Spray Lane, Singleton Shores Manor, Sparkleberry Lane, Still Run Ramble, Sunday Ford Drive, Surf Watch Way, Tidal Bluff Road, Tidewater Manor, Trellis Court, Vanessa Lane, Walking Horse Street, Wanderer Lane and William Drive.

This story was originally published January 24, 2017 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Town of Hilton Head to fund debris removal for some poor communities denied by FEMA."