BATON ROUGE, LA – Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome announced the City-Parish is activating its emergency debris contractor program and mobilizing all available resources in response to damages inflicted by Hurricane Ida, including initial tree removal from roadways, damage assessments, and then transitioning to debris removal operations set to begin Sept. 7.
City-Parish damage assessment teams are continuing to survey impacted areas throughout East Baton Rouge Parish as residents organize and move their storm debris curbside. We expect the initial damage assessments will take the next 3 to 5 days and continue for up to 14 days. Once these initial damage assessments are complete, we will move into debris collection. City-Parish officials will announce details about any phases or zones that crews will use to prioritize debris removal activities.
“Hurricane Ida was a devastating storm for so many. We incurred mostly major tree damage and power outages throughout East Baton Rouge Parish,” said Mayor Broome. “As our crews will continue to move swiftly to respond to hazards created by storm debris. As we position our teams and begin debris removal operations as soon as possible, we want to be sure to provide residents the time they need to clean and clear their homes of any debris caused by this storm.”
Once operations begin Sept. 7, debris removal crews will begin collecting storm debris from all residential locations in the City of Baton Rouge and unincorporated areas of East Baton Rouge Parish. Residents do not need to contact the City-Parish once their debris is placed curbside. We will have crews deployed to assess debris removal needs daily and expect the collection process to take up to 12 weeks.
Storm debris must be placed curbside in the public right of way, or the area of property that extends from the street to the sidewalk, ditch, utility pole, or easement. Only loose debris will be collected and must be placed at least four feet from any nearby mailboxes, water meters, fire hydrants, or other above-ground utility. City-Parish officials are strongly urging residents to organize their storm debris into piles to support an efficient collection process.
Residents should organize storm debris into piles based on the attached diagram and separated from regular garbage and trash piles, which will be collected as part of the City-Parish’s regular garbage and recycling collection services. Republic Services has resumed daily collection services today.
Contractors hired by residents for storm debris removal, or renovations due to storm-related damages, must remove any storm debris from the premises. City-Parish officials are urging residents to only hire licensed contractors and include the removal of any resulting storm debris in their contract. To check a contractor’s license number or other information, visit lacontractor.org.