ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Officials are trying to make it easier for restaurants to reopen.

To help food service establishments reopen as quickly and safely as possible, Buncombe County Environmental Health launched a new, streamlined “Emergency Operations Plan for Food Establishments” form operators can complete and submit online at buncombecounty.org/eh.

Environmental Health has processed and approved 276 streamlined Emergency Operation Plans for Food Establishments since last Thursday, county officials said during a briefing Tuesday.

Environmental Health is also working with the Division of Child Development and Early Education to assist childcare centers with reopening. Forty-two Emergency Operation Plans have been received for childcare centers; 40 of them have been reviewed, and 32 plans can be approved. Approved plans are shared with the licensed childcare consultant responsible for completing the final review. After the final review, Environmental Health will make a site visit to complete the reopening process.

Anyone with questions may reach out to Buncombe County Environmental Health by phone at 828-250-5016 or by email at ehrequest@buncombecounty.org.

N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles

At its peak, 25 driver license offices and 28 license plate agencies in Western North Carolina were closed because of impacts from the storm. Currently, there are only a few driver license offices closed, one at Burnsville and another at Spruce Pine.

All WNC license plates agencies have reopened except for Marshall, which suffered extensive damage.

Open driver license offices are now designated as credential pick-up centers.

If your license or ID card cannot be delivered by mail, you can return to the location of your in-person transaction after 21 days to pick up your credential.

If you complete (or completed) your renewal or ordered a duplicate online or at an office that hasn’t yet reopened, please visit ncdmv.gov to see where your credential can be picked up. Allow at least 21 days from the date of your transaction to see if it can be delivered to your home or for it to arrive at the designated office for pickup.

All these details can be found at ncdot.gov/WNCcredentialPickup.

The DMV License and Theft Bureau, the DMV’s law enforcement arm, assisted 17 law enforcement support requests as a part of this recovery effort, including deployment of 121 personnel to WNC.

County offices reopening

On Wednesday, Oct. 23, Buncombe County will reopen to the public during regular business hours with the exception of most parks and two libraries. Only North Buncombe Fields and Hominy Valley Park will open; all other parks remain closed. All libraries will open with the exception of Oakley/South Asheville Library and Swannanoa Library. Mobile parks and library programming will be announced in the coming days as plans are finalized to bring these services to communities.

Community Care Station

A new Community Care Station opened Tuesday at Owen Pool in Swannanoa. Community Care Stations continue to be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and have showers, laundry, food, and in some cases medical care, all available at no cost. The locations for these are:

  • A.C. Reynolds High School
  • At Home Store (parking lot)
  • Big Lots/Innsbrook Mall
  • Buncombe County Sports Park
  • Bethel United Methodist
  • A.C. Reynolds Middle School
  • Ingles Swannanoa
  • Morgan Hill Baptist Church

Water customers

A Boil Water Notice for all City of Asheville and Town of Black Mountain water customers is still in place, meaning this water must be boiled vigorously for 1 minute before consumption — including drinking and cooking. This water is safe to shower in, but still use bottled or boiled water for brushing your teeth.

Food and water distribution are at:

  • Sky Lanes Bowling Alley
  • Black Mountain Ingles
  • Fairview Elementary
  • Swannanoa Ingles
  • Linwood Crump Shiloh Community Center
  • Pack Square Park
  • Buncombe County Sports Park
  • A.C. Reynolds Middle School

Solid waste

This week, WastePro is running normal routes for trash and recycling where accessible.

The landfill is open at 85 Panther Road in Alexander on Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Transfer Station at 190 Hominy Creek Road in Asheville is open 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This is for residential bagged trash and household recycling. Regular fees apply.

Recycling can be dropped off at Curbside Management, 116 N. Woodfin Ave., Asheville, Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is a drop-off area just inside the gate.

D-SNAP

Buncombe County residents can apply for help buying food through the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP). The deadline to apply is Thursday. Individuals and households not currently receiving Food and Nutrition Services benefits who were impacted by Hurricane Helene can apply for D-SNAP. Applications can be submitted in-person at Buncombe County Health and Human Services at 40 Coxe Avenue in Asheville from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The application process can also be started online by pre-registering at epass.nc.gov and then calling the DSNAP Call Center at 1-844-453-1117.

Donations

Because of the incredible outpouring of support, organizations throughout Buncombe County have received an influx of donations like clothes, shoes and blankets. They can’t accept any more, because theyy don’t have the resources to store and distribute them. Anyone who wants to assist is urged to make financial contributions to reputable organizations supporting Helene recovery.

The sentiment extends to volunteers, as well. There is a strong presence from FEMA and emergency response teams from across the state and around the country. The county doesn’t have opportunities available right now for volunteers to work outside of the emergency response structure.

Home well testing

During Hurricane Helene recovery, Environmental Health has received 900 water sample applications. While most of these wells were not directly affected by flood water or damaged by the hurricane, these water sample applications have provided peace of mind for those relying on wells for drinking water.

Environmental Health will now be focusing on flooded or damaged wells because of the storm. Environmental Health is shiftingt to only sampling wells that were flooded or damaged during the storm. The office will screen water sample applications to determine if the well was flooded or damaged. For the wells that meet this criteria, well disinfection kits and water sample collection kits will be provided.

Environmental Health highly recommends residents to only apply for a well water test if their well was flooded or damaged. If the well was not flooded or damaged, residents should consider waiting to submit applications for a water sample. This will allow the office to prioritize our recovery and response activities to help those in our community most impacted by the storm.