Debris Removal Wraps Up In Ascension Parish 

Release Date: October 27, 2005
Release Number: 1603-121

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BATON ROUGE, La. -- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials with the Louisiana Recovery Field Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announce that their FEMA-assigned debris removal mission is complete in Ascension Parish.

“I’m pleased to announce that this milestone in recovery has been reached,” said Col. Charlie Smithers, commander of the Louisiana Recovery Field Office headquartered in Baton Rouge.

On Oct. 20, parish officials along with representatives of FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, signing a Memorandum of Agreement making Ascension the first parish in the state to wrap up the federal debris removal effort.

The federally-funded program began in Ascension Parish on Sept. 9. During the mission, Corps contractors removed 26,086 cubic yards of debris—enough to fill a football field 15 ½ feet high.

“The Corps plays a vital role in the nation’s disaster recovery network, and I’m gratified that—through this FEMA mission—we could help the people of Ascension Parish gain some normalcy in their lives,” said Col. Smithers. “Due to the overwhelming nature of this event, the Corps has been a much needed asset which has greatly aided us on the road to recovery,” said Col. Jeff Smith, state coordinating officer.

“Debris has been a huge problem across the Gulf Coast region since the hurricanes,” said Scott Wells, Deputy Principal Federal Official at the Joint Field Office in Baton Rouge. “To date, 39 million cubic yards of hurricane debris have been removed by the Corps of Engineers along with state and local governments in the hurricane-affected areas.”

FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.

Last Modified: Thursday, 27-Oct-2005 21:11:46