By Alabama Public Radio
Mobile, AL – The Federal Emergency Management Agency has agreed to pay 100 percent of the cost of cleaning up debris that was caused by Hurricane Ivan in three South Alabama counties. Governor Riley says he met with FEMA officials, and the federal agency did agree to pay for the full cost of debris removal for county and city governments in Mobile, Escambia and Butler Counties. Those three counties signed agreements with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before midnight on September 19th. Confusion over who would pay for debris removal started after Riley assured some South Alabama mayors that FEMA would pay 100 percent of the cost if cleanup began before September 19th. FEMA officials later said that was not the case, and Riley has attributed the confusion to a misunderstanding.