Title: Grounds Storm Debris Clean-Up
Document #:
From: Maggie Dangerfield, Sustainability Coordinator, Risk Safety and Environmental
Management
Revision :
Approved By:
Approval Date:
To: All Operations and School Staff
Effective Date:
2.1
Introduction
It is the intent of Charleston County School District to provide sound environmental management of its facilities
and grounds. The prescribed procedures for addressing storm debris on school campuses in this document serve
to provide efficient and effective clean-up of hazardous debris on school grounds in order to protect the health
and safety of students and staff and maintain the quality of the District’s facilities.
Purpose
The purpose for such guidelines is to have procedures for how grounds debris from storms will be handled by
CCSD Operations personnel to provide quick and efficient clean-up and protect facility occupant health and
safety. This guideline will describe the level-by-level procedures for reporting and clean-up of storm debris
materials. This document is not a legal mandate and should be used as a guideline. These guidelines are subject
to change as processes are revised and updated periodically as needed.
Situation
In the event CCSD experiences a severe weather event or storm resulting in the accumulation of debris on
CCSD grounds of any kind, students, staff, visitors, and personnel should follow the outlined procedures in this
document for proper debris clean-up.
Process
I.
Assessment
a. Visual Inspection
i. Whenever an observation of potential grounds storm debris concerns are made by staff,
student(s) or the general public, a visual inspection should initially be made by a school
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administrator and day porter to evaluate any immediate hazards or threats to safety posed
by the storm debris.
ii. Minor grounds storm debris should be removed immediately by the day porter.
iii. For minor debris covering the entire campus, medium, and large debris, a more extensive
assessment of damage must occur. A school administrative staff member should place a
work order in SchoolDude requesting an inspection of storm debris present on the school
campus by a representative of the Facilities Maintenance and Assessment Management
(FM&AM) Department of the Charleston County School District (CCSD).
iv. Following the placement of a work order, a visual inspection of the school grounds will
be performed in order to determine the extent of grounds storm damage present at the
facility. This assessment will determine the degree of clean up and response.
b. Reporting of Visual Inspections and Notification
i. The results of the initial visual inspection conducted by the school administrator and day
porter should be reported to the FM&AM Department by phone and/or written in the
work order placed in SchoolDude.
ii. A representative from the FM&AM Department will follow-up with the school
administrator who placed the work order with additional information and instructions.
1. NOTIFICATION: CCSD staff will be notified by the school administration
following the communication of an action plan for remediation by the FMA&M
Department before the commencement of a major clean-up. For minor clean-ups,
notification will follow normal work order process and procedures.
II.
Level 1: Minor Grounds Storm Debris- Isolated Areas
a. Minor grounds storm debris in isolated areas is defined as storm debris such as small tree
branches, leaves, and pine straw that is limited to a small area of a campus.
b. The facility’s day porter should pickup, sweep and rake the debris present and place in the
school’s dumpster for collection.
c. The day porter should notify the Plant Operations Office via phone at (843) 745-7189 to have the
facility’s dumpster emptied after debris collection is complete.
III.
Level 2: Minor Grounds Storm Debris- Entire Campus
a. Minor grounds storm debris over the entire campus is defined as storm debris such as small tree
branches, leaves, and pine straw that is spread out across a campus.
b. The facility’s day porter should pickup, sweep and rake minor grounds debris into neat, safe
piles.
c. Affected area(s) of campus should be sectioned off by the day porter or school administration
until additional cleanup work can be completed.
d. A work order should be submitted in SchoolDude for the CCSD Grounds Shop to deploy heavy
equipment to pickup and remove collected storm debris from the campus.
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IV.
Level 3: Medium Grounds Storm Debris- Isolated Areas
a. Medium grounds storm debris in isolated areas is defined as storm debris such as small and
medium tree branches, leaves, and pine straw limited to a small area of a campus.
i. These items are too large for the day porter to move.
b. A work order should be submitted in SchoolDude for the CCSD Grounds Shop to deploy heavy
equipment to pickup and remove storm debris from the campus.
c. Affected area(s) should be sectioned off by the day porter or school administration until cleanup
work can be completed.
d. The facility’s day porter should pickup, sweep and rake minor grounds debris such as small tree
branches, leaves, and pine straw into neat, safe piles.
e. Medium to large debris and the pile(s) of minor debris should be picked up by the CCSD
Grounds Shop heavy equipment and removed from the school campus.
f. Any debris that could cause damage to the building or could threaten the safety of building
occupants should be reported immediately to Campus Security at (843) 296-2166 (24 hours per
day) and the work order desk at (843) 566-8151 (Monday through Friday 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM).
V.
Level 4: Major Grounds Storm Debris- Entire Campus
a. Major grounds storm debris over the entire campus is defined as storm debris such as small,
medium and large tree branches, leaves, and pine straw that is spread out across a campus.
i. These items are too large for the day porter to move.
b. A work order should be submitted in SchoolDude for the CCSD Grounds Shop to deploy heavy
equipment to pickup and remove storm debris from the campus.
c. The facility’s day porter should pickup, sweep and rake minor grounds debris such as small tree
branches, leaves, and pine straw into neat, safe piles.
d. Medium to large debris and the pile(s) of minor debris should be picked up by the CCSD
Grounds Shop heavy equipment and removed from the school campus.
e. In the instance that debris necessitates removal beyond the ability of the CCSD Grounds Shop, a
tree removal service vendor can be contracted to perform the work.
f. Affected area(s) should be sectioned off by the day porter or school administration until the tree
removal service vendor can complete the work.
g. Any debris that could cause damage to the building or could threaten the safety of building
occupants should be reported immediately to Campus Security at (843) 296-2166 (24 hours per
day) and the work order desk at (843) 566-8151 (Monday through Friday 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM).
VI.
Level 5: Significant Grounds Storm Debris
a. Significant grounds storm debris is defined as storm debris over the entire campus with major
building damage to the extent that school cannot be conducted.
b. No CCSD staff, personnel, student, or visitor should attempt to navigate through debris or enter
the building.
c. All personnel should immediately call Campus Security at (843) 296-2166 (24 hours per day)
and the work order desk at (843) 566-8151 (Monday thru Friday 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM).
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d. CCSD staff will be notified by the school administration following the communication of an
action plan for remediation by the FMA&M Department before the commencement of a major
clean-up.
Relevant Definitions
References
Enclosures
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