[StBernard] Pre-disaster contracts urged

[Westley Annis]

FEMA: Debris cleanup would be faster


By MAX FOLLMER


SUN HERALD WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON - FEMA wants state and local governments to arrange pre-disaster
debris removal contracts using a new online database that could help local
companies get a slice of the business.
 
Agency officials touted the new registry as a way to help cities and towns
immediately start debris removal after catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina.
City and state officials can select contractors based on registry listings
created by the companies themselves.
 
FEMA spokesman Michael Widomski said the agency hopes local officials will
use the database to identify contractors who can move quickly to help clear
storm debris.
Cities and states are responsible for storm cleanup, but FEMA said the Army
Corps of Engineers could still step in if local officials were overwhelmed.
 
Mike Womack, interim director of the Mississippi Emergency Management
Agency, said the new guidelines were "moving in the right direction," but
didn't do enough to help cities cut bureaucratic red tape.
 
"The problem you are going to have in debris removal is [the new guidelines]
don't go far enough in making sure that local governments don't lose money
because they have removed ineligible debris," Womack said.
 
While the new guidelines define what FEMA considers debris eligible for
reimbursement, Womack said that the federal government needs to have people
on the ground identifying ineligible debris and stopping the removal when it
appears cities are about to run afoul of regulations.