Government House outlined hurricane debris removal progress across the U.S. Virgin Islands

Government House said on March 23, 2018, that about 750,000 cubic yards of vegetative debris had been collected across the U.S. Virgin Islands following Hurricanes Irma and Maria, along with 121,000 cubic yards of construction and demolition debris.

The administration said 1,363 transformers, 2,883 power poles and 1,943,816 feet of conductor cable had been removed. It said nearly all Water and Power Authority debris had been collected and shipped in containers to the Dominican Republic for final disposal, with the last off-island shipment scheduled for March 24, 2018.

Government House said 270 salvaged vessels had been demolished and were expected to be loaded onto barges and shipped to a disposal site in Mississippi by early April 2018.

It said the Army Corps of Engineers had been reducing vegetative debris on St. Thomas and St. John and was expected to begin work on St. Croix. The Army Corps also had open requests for bids to dispose of vegetative debris and construction and demolition debris off-island.

The statement said 7,372 white goods had been collected across the territory and that metals were being processed for shipment to Florida for recycling. On St. Thomas, metal baling had been temporarily halted because of equipment problems and was expected to resume the following week, while baling on St. Croix was expected to be completed in June 2018.

Government House also said FEMA and the Environmental Protection Agency had assisted in collecting 5,950 bags of medical waste, 69 pounds of refrigerant, 1,525 propane tanks and 14,464 batteries. It said the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority resumed management of hazardous waste on March 10, 2018.

The administration said some isolated pockets of hurricane debris remained uncollected across the territory.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/government-house-issues-hurricane-debris-updates/