99 days later, Hurricane Irma debris finally gone

Ninety-nine days after Hurricane Irma throttled the West Coast of Florida, the last of the debris it left in its wake in Manatee County has finally been cleared.

The county has met its self-made deadline of having Hurricane Irma debris cleaned up in totality by Dec. 18.

Amy Pilson, public affairs liaison for the county utilities department, said crews with SCS Engineers and HDR Inc. were in the field Monday picking up debris to meet the goal.

While estimates of how much the process cost have yet to be finalized, utilities deputy director Gus DiFonzo recently told county commissioners they estimate that there was between 500,000 and 550,000 cubic yards of hurricane debris to sift through. Initial estimates were twice that amount.

Utilities director Mike Gore also indicated that after FEMA reimbursements, the county’s responsibility for cleanup costs may be $5 million.

Another cost associated with debris includes a loss of $10,888 in revenue, when the Lena Road Landfill was accepting residents’ yard debris without charging tipping fees, eventually burning 272 tons of yard debris.

This story was originally published December 19, 2017 at 4:54 PM with the headline "99 days later, Hurricane Irma debris finally gone."