FEMA approves private property debris removal

Aid available in St. Charles

Parish President Albert D. Laque has announced that residents of St. Charles parish who still need help with removing hurricane-debris from their private property have until May 31 to request assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The help is available through a special Private Property Debris Removal Program that FEMA has begun in St. Charles Parish to aid homeowners in removing debris generated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that is posing an immediate threat to public health and safety.

The program is being facilitated by the parish and funded for a limited time by FEMA. There is no cost for the removal to homeowners with eligible debris who sign up by the May 31deadline.

Examples of debris on private property generally considered eligible under this program include: uprooted stumps, trees that are uprooted, split to the heartwood or have lost more than 50 percent of their canopies, and broken branches that create an immediate threat to public safety and improved property.

Homeowners wanting to participate in the PPDR program first must submit a completed right-of-entry form to the parish that grants permission for entities such as FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and/or its subcontractors and the parish to be on a resident’s private property to evaluate and/or to remove the hurricane debris.

Homeowner participation in the program is voluntary. Signing a right-of-entry form does not transfer title or deed of the property to another party but is required for the evaluation and possible debris removal to take place.

Submitting a right-of-entry does not automatically make you eligible for the program. Your property will be surveyed to determine what debris can be removed under the FEMA program guidelines.

Right-of-entry forms can be obtained at the St. Charles Parish Department of Public Works, 403 Milling Ave., Luling, LA 70070 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

Once the right-of-entry form is completed and submitted to the parish, a site assessment will be done by FEMA to determine what, if any, hurricane debris is eligible for removal. Work crews will then follow up at a later time to actually remove the debris.

Residents are advised that while precautions will be taken to use care during the debris-removal process, some property damage may occur and that signing the right-of-entry form holds the government and its agents harmless from responsibility for that damage.

For more information on right-of-entry forms or the private property debris removal program, please call the St. Charles Parish Public Works Department at 985-783-5102.