CENTRE — About a tenth of the estimated 10 million cubic yards of debris – image a football field-sized stack standing a mile high – has been cleaned from Alabama so far, officials told the Birmingham News last week.

On Thursday, the Cherokee County Commission voted unanimously to get that federally-funded cleanup effort underway here.

Commissioners voted to provide the Army Corps of Engineers the authority to gain right of way entry and begin the process of removing wreckage from areas of the county affected by the April 27 tornado.

Local contractors hired by the Corps and supervised by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will begin work in the days ahead, Cherokee County EMA Director Beverly Daniel told The Post.

“Hopefully, they can begin moving debris off the right-of-way by in the morning,” Daniel said Thursday. “As much as possible, if people can go ahead and push it to the right-of-way, it will be picked up that much sooner.”

Daniel said the May 19 vote by the County Commission – an approval already granted in several other storm-damaged areas of the state – will expedite the process of debris removal. She said this is the first time in the nation's history that the federal government has taken control of the cleanup process after a natural disaster.

Under the agreement, the costs for debris removal would be shared by FEMA and the state. FEMA now is covering 90 percent of the costs of debris removal on public property, while the state is paying 10 percent.

After June 12, the federal share of the costs will fall to 75 percent. The remaining 25 percent will then be shared by the city and state, with the local government — either city or county — funding 15 percent of the costs and the state government picking up the remaining 10 percent, according to a recent report in The Tuscaloosa News.

While the Corps of Engineers, which is overseeing the debris removal work, will be seeking reimbursement for its work from FEMA, officials said that the Corps itself will not ask individual property owners for anything.

“We are not billing property owners,” Corps of Engineers spokesman Billy Birdwell told the Tuscaloosa paper.

Daniel said the state EMA is already working a formal request to extend the state's portion of the funding past a 30-day limit that begins when debris removal commences.

Commissioner Carlton Teague said he is impressed by the government's efforts so far, though he added that not everyone will qualify for FEMA assistance for debris removal.

“If they have insurance, then their insurance should take care of it,” Teague said. “This is for people who don't have insurance to get rid of storm debris. They've already started working in Etowah County. You should see all the trucks.”

Daniel said her office will contact property owners to seek a right of entry permit. She said anyone who already knows they meet the criteria can call her office at 256-927-3911 to speed up the process.

Daniel said there are three locations in the county where wooded debris will be piled and burned. She said other types of wreckage, including that categorized as “construction and demolition” debris, will be hauled to the Three Corners Landfill in southwestern Cherokee County and buried.

Daniel said debris should be piled in open areas after being divided into six categories: electronics, such as TVs and computers; large appliances; hazardous waste, such as oil and batteries; vegetative debris; construction debris, such as building materials; and household garbage.

Daniel said it is important to avoid stacking the piles of separated debris where they block the roadway.