Macomb, IL – It won't be cheap for Macomb to clean-up all the debris from the December 19 ice storm.
City Administrator Dean Torreson says, "We have estimated the clean-up cost at $200,000. But that's if we hire private contractors to come in and help us clear the brush and haul it out to the tree site."
He believes hiring private contractors is a better option than asking city workers to do all of the work. "If it's done internally, it's just going to take a long time and take city labor that could be doing other things."
The city plans to burn much of the waste. It will rent a burner to make the fire hotter; that will reduce the amount of particulate matter released into the air.
The price to rent a burner is an estimated $2,200 per month. It could take a month or two to burn all of the material. The state will not allow the city to burn for more than eight hours per day.
Torreson says the city will seek a burning permit from the Illinois EPA. The city has been told that its request is at the top of the list and the permit could be issued in the next day or two.
The city says grinding all of the brush would be too expensive.
The city also says it's beginning to run out of space at its yard waste site.
Macomb's plans depend upon it receiving state money through a disaster declaration for McDonough County. Torreson says the paperwork was submitted to the governor's office Tuesday (January 20).
You can listen to the city council's discussion about the clean-up from the ice storm by clicking on the audio button.