A month after Hurricane Zeta, the cleanup process is not complete across Jefferson Parish and homeowners want to know why the debris is still in their yards.
Jefferson Parish says they’re nearly 90% complete with the first pass of debris removal.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Gretna resident Michael Tydings. Tree limbs are piled in his yard and he is ready to have his yard back.
“I can’t park nothing here or anything like that,” Tydings said. “If someone comes over, they have to park behind or on the other side of this pile and that’s my neighbor’s yard. I don’t want to interfere with him.”
Jefferson Parish officials initially expected to collect nearly 22,000 cubic yards of debris, but since the storm, they’ve collected more than 108,000 cubic yards.
“This was a storm that impacted every neighborhood here in Jefferson Parish,” said Katherine Costanza, the assistant director of Environmental Affairs. “Some neighborhoods, particularly those with large tree canopies were more heavily impacted than others. Crews are working.”
Costanza says there are roughly 20 trucks making rounds and the first pass should be complete this weekend.
On the Jefferson Parish website, there is an interactive map where you can see where crews are working and the areas already completed.
“We are working with crews to get everything that is eligable up and just be patient because we will get to you,” Costanza said.
So far, the parish has spent about $2.3 million on debris removal and monitoring. Costanza said the parish is expecting to be reimbursed by FEMA.
“One of the things we’re required to do with our tree debris is to reduce it and chip it by 50% and a lot of these things and regulations take time and we want to comply with all of the rules so we can get reimbursed for the efforts,” said Costanza.
If you believe crews missed your debris, call the Environmental Affairs department at 504-736-6440 or email JPEnvironmental@jeffparish.net.