St. Louis officials asked the Army Corps of Engineers to take over private property tornado debris removal in a July letter.
The Corps would need six to eight months to complete removal and could start as soon as this month, while the city is projected to need 18 months to do so and wouldn’t be able to start until February, according to the July 11 letter signed by Mayor Cara Spencer and Julian Nicks, chief recovery and neighborhood transformation officer.
“The City does not have the staff required to manage multiple contracts, enforce multiple contracts, perform consultation with other state agencies, and/or triage debris operations in the field in real time,” the city officials wrote in the letter.
Missouri Sens. Eric Schmitt and Josh Hawley and Reps. Wesley Bell, Ann Wagner, Robert Onder, Mark Alford, Emmanuel Cleaver, Sam Graves, Eric Burlison and Jason Smith sent a separate letter supporting the request to the acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where the decision ultimately rests. A FEMA spokesperson said the request is being reviewed.
“If approved, this mission would unlock USACE’s unmatched staff, expertise, capacity, and equipment to support state and local efforts to remove debris, protect public health and safety, and support economic recovery,” Missouri’s senators and representatives wrote.
There is an estimated 1 million tons of debris still left to be collected, and the effort is estimated to cost $300 million, according to the letter.
The city said it would need six months to onboard new staff, consultants and contractors, plus a minimum of 18 months to complete the full debris removal mission.
“This timeline poses a threat to the health and safety of citizens due to mold growth, asbestos-containing material, lead paint/chips, and household hazardous materials let on parcels exposed to elements, increasing the risk to nearby citizens,” Spencer and Nicks wrote.
A spokesperson for the Army Corps said it is already preparing internally to do this work so that it can start quickly if the city’s request is approved.
This story has been updated.
St. Louis Public Radio's Hiba Ahmad contributed to this report.
