Public Service Announcement
Juan-Last Brush Pick-Up in Designated Areas
(Wednesday, August 10/05)-- There seems to be some confusion among the media and some HRM residents about the one-time-only brush pick-up of Hurricane Juan debris located within the federal Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle exclusion zone.
In order to be eligible for roadside pick- up, the brush must originate from damage caused by Hurricane Juan. Fresh brush not related to the hurricane will be rejected.
The brush pick-up is expected to begin later this month and continue for approximately four weeks in designated areas. Dates will be released in the next week or so through the media and through advertisements.
Brush originating from within 30 metres (100 feet) of a building, road or driveway is eligible for this pick-up program. This is the designated safe zone under the national FireSmart program. (Brush is defined as branches and woody debris less than 10 centimeters (4 inches) in diameter).
Brush must be properly placed roadside to ensure that it is efficient and easy to gather up by the mechanical grapplers. The following guidelines must be followed to ensure that it is picked up during this program:
1. Brush should not be piled directly under telephone/power lines. It is important to note that during pick-up, personnel and equipment cannot legally get closer than 6.0 metres (20 feet) to an overhead energized power line (Occupational Safety General Regulations, section 126).
2. Brush should not be placed closer to the road than one meter and no further away than seven meters. Grapples cannot reach easily beyond 7 meters.
3. Brush piles should not inhibit safe viewing distances for exiting driveways and other access points.
4. Brush should not be piled so high that it could topple over onto the roadway.
5. Brush should not be piled in any location where there is a fire danger.
6. Brush should be piled so that all branches are laid in the same direction. This prevents the slash from becoming interwoven, which makes it difficult to load or chip.
8. Brush should not be placed within 10 meters (32 feet) of any open watercourses.
9. Brush should not plug ditches/culverts or be placed where it may interfere with regular drainage patterns.
10. Brush should not be placed under trees or other obstacles which may prevent loading onto trucks.
The limbs should be cut off the tree and piled at roadside, clear from overhead powerlines. Brush larger than 4" in diameter is not eligible for pickup. Having the whole tree at roadside is not acceptable.
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John O’Brien
Corporate Communications Officer
(902) 490-6531
