In September of 2005, Witt Associates was tasked by the State of Louisiana to establish a debris program monitoring effort to oversee what was to become the largest debris removal and disposal operation in United States history. The mission, issued in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the State, involved ensuring that debris operations were handled efficiently and in conformance with program requirements so that problems could be avoided and debris-related reimbursement from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) could be maximized. A team of qualified professionals was assembled in a matter of days to initiate operations, and locally hired personnel were utilized to the maximum extent possible to augment debris program monitoring teams.
To effectively manage and monitor the debris collection efforts to ensure program compliance and eventual reimbursement, Witt Associates first worked with the State (the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, and the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness) to prepare a debris management plan, divide the State into sectors for management and monitoring purposes, and identify both collection and disposal sites that met all regulatory and environmental requirements. A common load- ticketing process and protocols to monitor debris vehicles and their loads from pick-up location to final disposal were put in place.
Witt Associates also activated a team of Quality Assurance/ Quality Control (QA/QC) Monitors who were sent into the field to work with Federal, State and local contractors and Departments of Public Works. The team worked with debris firms, contractors and monitors and provided both training and guidance on best practices and documentation requirements while providing spot-checks on debris handling, separation, recycling, and monitored environmental rule and regulation compliance. Witt Associates also established protocols to monitor debris vehicles and their loads from pick-up location to final disposal. Throughout the operation, Witt Associates QA/QC Monitors quickly identified problems and worked with debris contractors to resolve them as quickly as possible. As many as 50 debris monitors were involved in overseeing activities at hundreds of collection points and more than a dozen disposal locations.
Witt Associates also oversaw and managed the demolition and disposal program related to unsafe structures on private property, monitoring the compliance and activity of contractors and others involved. Witt Associates personnel negotiated a process with FEMA related to the documentation needed to obtain reimbursement for private property demolitions, including how homeowner agreement and/or community condemnation needed to occur to justify demolition activities. Witt Associates also communicated guidelines and protocols for the handling of historic properties or environmental issues in the demolition and disposal effort.
As of November 1, 2008, more than 14,600 structures have been successfully removed and disposed of through this process, with few noted problems.
Despite the magnitude of the disaster, the amount of debris involved, and the large number of players in the debris removal effort, Witt Associates’ efforts have proven to be highly successful and an important element in community recovery. Over a two year period, Witt Associates’ program monitors oversaw the collection and proper disposal of approximately 55.7 million cubic yards of storm-related debris- more than any other disaster event in U.S. history. These efforts are widely credited by both the State and FEMA with protecting against abuses and reducing costs, with no identified instances of fraud or mismanagement noted since debris operations were initiated.