Mississippi Begins to Tackle Cleanup Effort

An estimated 23 million cubic yards of debris was generated by Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi alone, say federal and state authorities, and that is a conservative estimate.

In a Sept. 21 press briefing on Mississippi’s debris, it was also announced that for now there were no plans to open closed landfills in the state to handle the debris, and that it would be going to both MSW and C&D landfills. Also, the debris will be volume reduced whenever possible before going to the landfill, according officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and OSHA. But there will be burning of material, especially vegetative waste.