City Council Of Muskogee Seeks To Clear Up Storm Debris Confusion

The City Council of Muskogee wants to clear up confusion about who’s responsible for picking up debris left behind by storms and power line crews.

After several storms over the last few weeks, big piles of limbs in peoples’ front yards here in Muskogee are a common site, and after some confusion over whose job it is to clear them off, the city is stepping up.

The big point of discussion in yesterday’s city council meeting was limbs left behind by OG&E contractors.

Assistant Public Works Director Avery Rigney explained in a presentation that some were piled in yards that didn't even have tree damage.  

"They were piled in front of her house as a central location, so she inherited a considerable amount of debris that she did not own prior to this storm," says Rigney.

Alba Weaver with OG&E answered questions from the community at the meeting.

"It's upsetting actually to kind of see some of those pictures because that's not the standards that OG&E lives by," Weaver says.

In a statement, OG&E says it’s working with the city of Muskogee to resolve these issues. It also says, however, it is the property owners’ responsibility to deal with limbs left over from power line clearing after severe weather.

Mayor Marlon Coleman says to help citizens remove the debris, the city decided to step in to help.

"In the midst of that confusion, we're very blessed in our city that we have emergency funds we emergency powers where we can go ahead and step in and alleviate whatever frustrations the residents may have because of confusion that may be happening on either part," says Coleman.

He says the cleanup effort with take three to six weeks, and the city is still working on details, but people should notify the city if they need help.

"They should be diligent in notifying the city that they've got limbs in their neighborhood, limbs on their property," Coleman says.

People can still take limbs themselves for free to a site at 40th and Denver.

Statement from OG&E:

Last month, storms with wind speeds up to 85 mph hit across our 30,000 square foot service area, including in the Muskogee area. We had 4,000 personnel working at the height of the restoration process to get power back on for our customers. After storms, our crews clear tree limbs that are interfering with power lines so that power can be quickly and safely restored for our customers.

Crews take storm debris to the curb of the property but do not remove storm debris. It is the customer's responsibility to remove storm debris from their property. Our crews regularly trim trees and other vegetation near power lines as an essential part of maintaining safe and reliable service for our customers. After this kind of regular maintenance tree trimming, our crews will dispose of tree debris.

After every storm, we assess our restoration efforts to find any opportunity for improvement. In our assessments from the June storms, we are disappointed some work did not meet our standards. In Muskogee, we are working with local officials to resolve their concerns.

We regularly and frequently directly inform customers about the storm debris process during and after a storm, and the information is available on OGE.com. Additionally, we encourage customers to contact local officials about their storm debris-removal process or contact local nonprofits or other community groups for assistance with storm debris removal.