The city of Joplin is off the hook for paying for the first couple of months of debris removal following a devastating tornado in May.
The federal government is paying 90 percent of the cost in the hard-hit area designated for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's enhanced cleanup payments, instead of the usual 75 percent. The state will be picking up the 10 percent not covered by FEMA under the expedited debris removal program that runs through next Sunday. Mo. Gov. Jay Nixon said two-thirds of the properties have been cleared so far.
It’s not certain how many millions of dollars the state must shell out. Nixon said the state is covering Joplin’s share because the tornado caused the city to lose tax revenues.
