Local, state and federal governments are providing ways to help victims of Hurricane Irene in their recovery efforts.

To that end, the City of Washington is waiving permit fees associated with recovery efforts in its harbor district and historic district. Anyone involved with recovery efforts related to repairing homes and other structures damaged by the storm is required to obtain the necessary building permits and/or certificate of appropriateness for recovery efforts in the city’s harbor district and historic district.

The city offers suggestions for the following projects:

• Roof replacement — use like materials that are historically accurate;
• Window replacement — projects should be completed with like materials;
• Tree removal —acceptable if fallen or damaged trees pose safety or health threats;
• Deck or siding repairs — damaged decks or siding may be replaced with like materials.

The city’s Planning and Development Department provides information on how to dry a water-damaged building, post-disaster landscape restoration, disaster-assistance programs and handling insurance claims.

Call 252-975-9383 to access that information.

City sanitation crews will pick up debris left by curbs. The collection process begins once all streets in the city have been cleared of debris.

Throughout eastern North Carolina, coastal property owners who need to replace docks, piers, bulkheads, houses or other structures damaged by Hurricane Irene along sounds, rivers and creeks may be able to do so quickly by using an emergency general permit offered by the N.C. Division of Coastal Management. The permit regulations speed up the authorization process for rebuilding structures that meet state standards.

The rules also waive permit fees for those projects, as well as beach bulldozing and maintenance dredging of existing channels related to hurricane recovery.

Property owners in Beaufort, Bertie, Hertford, Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington counties should make their requests at the N.C. Division of Coastal Management office at 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington.

For more information about this process, call the Washington DCM office at 252-946-6481.