A recent report discusses the status of the FEMA debris removal in Slidell LA.

Slidell sets deadline for debris
In Covington, it's already too late

Slidell residents have until Nov. 15 to request assistance with removing hurricane-related debris, but the deadline has passed in Covington.

Until mid-November, Slidell residents can get government help in removing storm debris, dead or dying trees, or ruined lawn equipment, or to ask that their storm-damaged homes be demolished. Any requests after that date will not be considered, according to city officials.

State, federal and local officials came to that conclusion Wednesday after meeting to discuss the Dec. 31 deadline set by President Bush to allow 100 percent reimbursement to municipalities to cover the cost of such programs.

Residents will have to pay at least 10 percent of the cost if workers are unable to get to their homes by Dec. 31. However, that could change if Bush extends the deadline.

Any requests for home demolitions received between now and Nov. 15 are unlikely to be completed before the end of the year.

"The factors leading to this decision were primarily calendar-driven to allow FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers and Ceres Environmental Services (the company overseeing the programs in Slidell) to wrap things up by Dec. 31," City Attorney Tim Mathison said.

In Covington, though, construction debris is no longer being picked up for free because the emergency procedures in place since Hurricane Katrina have been lifted, city officials said Thursday.

"Beginning Nov. 1, contractors repairing damaged homes, rebuilding damaged homes or building new homes in the city are responsible for disposal of construction debris," said Bob Young, the city's utilities administrator.

FEMA is no longer contracting with the Army Corps of Engineers for subcontractors to pick up construction debris in the city.

"We are back in the pre-storm normal mode in terms of trash collection and falling back totally now on our contracted garbage hauler, Coastal Waste Services," Young said.

For more than a year since Katrina, subcontractors have been in the city hauling away downed trees and limbs and debris from gutted houses, plus stormed-destroyed appliances. But Young said that operation ceased effective Wednesday in the city.

So-called green waste -- limbs, leaves and chunks of small trees -- will still be picked up by Coastal but Young said that waste cannot exceed 50 pounds or 12 inches in diameter. Those limbs, branches and sections of small trees do not have to be bundled or tied but only neatly stacked beside garbage cans on normal pickup days.

However, he said leaves need to be packed in a container or leaf bag for pickup.

Small amounts of other bulky waste can still be placed curbside for Coastal pickup but the piles should not be greater than four feet tall, four feet wide and six feet long.

Residents continuing to contract to have storm-damaged trees removed must arrange with their tree-removal company to have the large tree trunks and limbs carried away, Young said. A FEMA-financed program allowing government contractors to come onto property to remove dangerous trees or limbs has also ended because workers have gone to all those who signed up for it.

To view the online article, please click here.