Ellington

VICKSBURG, Miss. (AP) — New leaders will decide how a Mississippi county will pay to haul away flood debris.

The Vicksburg Post reports that Warren County supervisors voted to delay a decision on debris hauling, which could cost the county more than $100,000.

A total of 24 homes at Eagle Lake have been demolished by volunteers following flooding.

The delay means the next board of supervisors will decide on the move after they are sworn in on Jan. 1 to begin new four-year terms.

Water trapped inside a levee system stood for months this year. A floodgate that allows the water to drain from what's called the Yazoo backwater region was kept closed, because it was preventing even worse flooding from the Mississippi River.

Under the plan, the county would place dumpsters in the Eagle Lake area to collect debris. That would cut down on the number of time-consuming round trips to the county's landfill.

But county emergency manager John Elfers estimates nearly 250,000 cubic yards of debris needs to be hauled away, equivalent to 305 dumpsters. That would cost the county more than $137,000. Officials say Warren County must pay for the work itself and isn't eligible for federal disaster reimbursement.

Outgoing supervisors asked county employees to make a new estimate of the amount of debris, as well as determine whether it's all on public rights-of-way. Mississippi counties are barred by state law from working on private property.