51黑料

ST. LOUIS 鈥� City leaders have asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take charge of cleanup from the May tornado that plowed through north 51黑料, and officials are on tenterhooks waiting for a response.

If the Corps takes over, the debris could be gone in six to eight months, city officials said in a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. If the Corps doesn鈥檛, it could take three times as long.

That may be time the city doesn鈥檛 have, officials say. Nearly 90 days after the tornado hit, they鈥檙e working to rebuild neighborhoods that were struggling long before the May 16 storm. Such a delay in cleanup would postpone redevelopment, leave hazardous materials in place, allow crumbling buildings to collapse, and, eventually, drive residents from the city.

The speed of cleanup will determine the recovery鈥檚 success, Casey Millburg, the mayor鈥檚 policy director, told aldermen at a recent hearing.

鈥淭here is no other way to put it,鈥� she said.

Some officials are starting to fear the request will be denied. The Trump administration wants to and . Already, Missouri has seen to requests. When the administration ordered FEMA to of going door-to-door to help disaster survivors apply for aid in June, 51黑料 saw it happen in real time.

鈥淓very week that passes, I get more concerned that it鈥檚 not coming through,鈥� said Aldermanic President Megan Green.

FEMA spokesman John Mills said the request is still being reviewed. He declined further comment.

The Corps does not respond to every disaster. Cities and states generally have to prove they need help before assistance is rendered.

Shortly after touching down in Clayton, the May tornado went on a rampage across the northern half of the city. Homes, businesses and churches were ripped apart, their insides opened to the elements. Trees were twisted, cracked and felled on cars, buildings and streets. Afterward, officials estimated the storm had damaged more than 4,000 structures in the city and left 1 million tons of debris in its wake.

The clean-up effort began almost immediately. City crews and contractors fanned out across the disaster zone clearing streets and scooping up the wreckage. In July, the city hired a new contractor to go block by block to clear more material.

At this point, officials say, they鈥檝e collected 400,000 cubic yards of debris from the public right of way 鈥� enough to fill more than 25,000 dump trucks.

Still, officials say there鈥檚 a whole lot left on private property. There are trees that need to be cut down. There are vacant homes damaged so badly they have to be demolished. There are building materials mixed up with asbestos and lead that require special care to be removed safely.

Laura Ginn, the city鈥檚 point person on vacant buildings and demolitions, told aldermen last week it鈥檚 a project that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

And she said the city has neither the capacity nor the expertise 鈥渢o run contracts of that scale and at the speed that is required.鈥�

The Army Corps of Engineers, however, has handled many such tasks. It oversaw the removal of after Hurricane Sandy in 2012. It removed after a Baltimore bridge collapse last year. And it finished last month clearing over 1 million tons of debris .

The corps also helped game out a removal strategy in 51黑料, said Julian Nicks, Mayor Cara Spencer鈥檚 recovery czar.

The corps could handle it in six to eight months, it told the city.

But in a July 11 letter to FEMA asking for the Army Corps to be assigned to help 51黑料, Spencer said that if the city were to handle the work on its own, it would need to hire a bunch of new staff to manage all the contractors. Just getting everyone in place would take six months.

All told, she wrote, it would take at least 18 months for the city to do the same job.

鈥淭his 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 left on parcels exposed to elements,鈥� she said.

On Aug. 1, with no answer in sight, Missouri鈥檚 congressional delegation signed on to a letter backing Spencer鈥檚 request, noting that the state of Missouri has set aside $100 million that could help with federal cost-sharing requirements.

鈥淲e hope this gives FEMA the added confidence that approving this request would not only be impactful, but also fiscally sound,鈥� the senators and representatives wrote.

On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Spencer said the mayor鈥檚 office had yet to receive a response.

In the neighborhoods hit the hardest, some residents have already resigned themselves to inaction.

Brianna Major, a 27-year-old living in the Greater Ville neighborhood, said she didn鈥檛 expect help from FEMA or City Hall. She pointed across the street to a damaged house and said her neighbors have started demolishing it themselves.

鈥淲e kind of just rely on each other around here,鈥� she said.

Rosom Brown, a retired teacher, lives on Cora Avenue between two homes severely damaged by the tornado.

One is missing its side. One is missing its rear. But Brown said he does not expect federal help any time soon. The area is largely poor and Black. President Donald Trump, he said, doesn鈥檛 care about those groups.

鈥淏ut,鈥� Brown said, grinning, 鈥渋t would be nice if he did.鈥�