EMERGENCY DEBRIS PLANNING

TEMPORARY DEBRIS MANAGEMENT AREA (TDMA)

A Temporary Debris Management Area (TDMA) is a site used to temporarily store debris which has been collected from the right of way after a debris generating event.  Use of a TDMA facilitates clearing of roads by providing an area where collected debris can be consolidated, sorted and processed prior to transportation to a solid waste or recycling facility.  TDMAs may only be operated with an approval from the Department during a declared state of emergency.   The information on this webpage will assist municipalities and counties in siting a TDMA and obtaining a pre-approval for the site.

The Department strongly encourages municipalities to act now to select areas that would be suitable for temporary staging of both construction and demolition storm debris and vegetative debris and to have those areas pre-approved by the Department. If you do not have a suitable location in your town for debris staging, this would be a good time to enter into a shared services agreement with one or more of your neighboring towns, or to work with your District Solid Waste Management Official to develop a regional TDMA. 
 
Guidance on siting TDMAs is available in Section II of the Municipal Debris Planning Tool Kit and information on requesting pre-approval of TDMA sites is available in Appendix 4 and 6 of the Tool Kit.

TDMA FAQs

Have questions about how to site a Temporary Debris Management Area (TDMA) or about how to obtain a TDMA Pre-approval?   Check out the TDMA Frequently Asked Questions.



Calculating TDMA Acreage

Trying to determine how large of a TDMA may be needed by a municipality or county can be difficult.   The Department has developed guidance based upon guidance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.



TDMA Form and Instructions

The TDMA Request Form is a fillable PDF form that can be used to request a TDMA Pre-approval.   The completed form and attachments should be e-mailed to solidwasteemergencies@dep.nj.gov.

The Department can provide assistance with choosing a site and completing the form. For further information, please visit our contact page.