"24 ... Next!" St. Paul's Phyllis Hedberg has the last say on debris totals coming into the Gentilly Landfill. LA-RFO Photo by Terry Nuzzo. Back to Features

Who Decides the Cost of the Debris Operations?
By Michael Logue, Public Affairs, Louisiana Recovery Field Office

On this mid winter’s day across America, the Congress, the Administration, the State of Louisiana and dozens of parishes across south Louisiana are engaged in debates and negotiations about the cost of recovery operations following Hurricane Katrina. 

Numerous questions fill the halls of Government at all levels: 

• What will be the final price tag for the debris and demolition mission?
• How much will our share be?
• Can we be sure that our share is based on good data?
• How much will contractors be paid?

Who will decide?  The president, the director of FEMA, the Chief of Engineers, or maybe the Governor of Louisiana.

24 ….31 ….28 … 41 

In a dusty, windy field east of New Orleans, it sounds as if Drew Brees is calling signals for the Saints afternoon drills in preparation for the playoffs. 

Closer inspection reveals a tower wrapped in blowing sheets of plastic to protect the signal caller from the wind. 

As an approaching debris truck approaches from Old Gentilly Road, a single white hard hat pops out of the tower as the truck comes to a halt. 

28!

The head disappears back into the protection of the shelter and the truck drives away. Intriguing. 

On closer inspection, there is a slight, wind-blown quality assurance inspector in the tower, peering the horizon for other trucks entering the Gentilly landfill.  

Like a baseball umpire, the calls she makes today will certainly be one of the deciding factors of all the questions floating about the cost of the debris mission.  Other team players, such as Contracting, Counsel, Internal Review, and Resource Management also have a critical influence. 

But the final count that all others will use as the basis of their arguments and cost negotiations will fall on “tower cats” like Phyllis Hedberg from the St. Paul District.  Her job is to determine the quantity credited to each truck and driver that enters the landfill to dump debris. 

The cubic yards of debris she tallies in the trailer below will make its way to a single debris ticket.  The debris ticket will then makes its way to the million or so tickets the mission team will eventually sort through and validate in determining the final payment due the contractors. Payments to contractors will then determine the price of the mission. 

Her south Louisiana-sounding accent hides well the fact the she is from northern Minnesota.  

“I use a porta-potty as a guide,” the veteran of thousands of trucks explained. “Look there! You could probably put about two porta-potties in that void there.” 

A placard on the side of the trailer validates that the capacity of the trailer is 38 cubic yards.  Deduct the two porta potties!  Within just a few seconds, the verdict is in. 

“32!” 

The thirteen trucks of the past hour drive away without argument.  They know Phyllis and her peers are good at what they do.  Even the auditors have said so and validated their numbers. 

If there is a challenge to the call, like a football game challenge, Phyllis and the contractor’s rep huddle review the load and amend if necessary.  But on Phyllis’ tower, the play usually stands as called. 

The processing of counting trucks is daunting at best when you realize a blown call can send a couple of hundred taxpayer dollars instantly sailing into the Gentilly wind. 

“You have to pay attention to how the load is stacked.  Those box springs are on top, but they can put them on the bottom and leave a big void in there.” 

Techniques such as computing the debris angle at the back of the trailer when there is no tail gate also come into play. 

The “tower cats” are also on alert for hazardous material or other items that the trailer is carrying something it shouldn’t, like construction debris or vegetation that may not be disaster related.

As another truck approaches, Phyllis comes to full alert, like Peyton Manning scanning a defense before calling a play.  She has 10 seconds to decide what is coming and make the right call. 

29!  Great call! You go, girl!