Montgomery County sued to get back $7.5 million it paid two disaster debris companies that engaged in “overzealous clearing” that harmed the environment in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in 2021.
Mississippi-based DebrisTech and Texas-based DRC Emergency Services billed Montco for $14 million worth of cleanups, the suit said, but the federal government deemed more than half the removals “unnecessary” and declined to reimburse the county for it.
“Their overzealous clearing of County lands not only resulted in over half of the County’s reimbursement request getting denied, but it also caused environmental harm that requires extensive remediation,” the complaint said.
The lawsuit, which was initially filed in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas last month but moved to Philadelphia’s federal court this week, is a step to hold two vendors accountable for harm they caused, county spokesperson Megan Alt said in a statement.
“The Montgomery County Commissioners take their responsibility as stewards of the taxpayers’ money and natural resources very seriously,” Alt said.
DRC is committed to providing disaster recovery services that meets the instructions of its clients, Kristy Fuentes, the company’s vice president of administration and compliance, said in a statement.
“DRC looks forward to presenting all relevant evidence during the court proceedings regarding its disaster recovery work in Montgomery County,” Fuentes said.
DebrisTech did not respond to a request for comment.
Hurricane Ida hit the Philadelphia area in September 2021, inciting record flood levels, spawning at least seven tornadoes. Five people died in the region, and authorities recorded hundreds of water rescues.
DRC and DebrisTech came into Montgomery County days after Ida to assist in the recovery, the suit says. The vendors were required to engage only in clearings that are eligible for reimbursement by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to the complaint.
Montco relied on the companies’ expertise to determine FEMA eligibility but “instead of protecting the County’s interests,” the suit said, the vendors “overcut trees,” “mismanaged” oversight responsibilities, and “failed” to comply with FEMA regulations.
DRC and DebrisTech also cut down at least two Montgomery County-owned nature preserves, according to to the complaint. An 11-acre wooded preserve in Whitemarsh Township is “no longer,” the suit says, and Audubon Park turned into a “mud pit.”
All told, the companies billed Montgomery County $14,028,597.81 for the cleanup, the suit says. FEMA reimbursed just less than half, finding that the vendors removed debris that didn’t pose an “immediate threat.”
The federal agency denied multiple appeals by the county, leaving taxpayers on the hook for the remaining $7.5 million.
The suit asks a judge to require the vendors to reimburse the county for the $7.5 million FEMA found ineligible, restore the Whitemarsh site and Audubon Park, and pay damages and attorneys fees.
“Service providers hired for their claimed expertise are not free to accept public funds and then fail to perform, divert resources, or withhold services while retaining payment,” the lawsuit says. “To permit such conduct undermines fiscal accountability, erodes public confidence, and converts taxpayers’ dollars into a risk-free subsidy for contractual non-performance — an outcome the law cannot tolerate.”