NATCHEZ — After meeting with officials from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency last week, Adams County officials have received final approval on how to dispose of debris left over from Hurricane Gustav.

While initial estimates indicated the cost to convert the debris to woodchips placed the job at several hundred thousand dollars, the actual cost will likely be substantially less, Adams County Administrator Cathy Walker said.

Walker said the price discrepancy came when the debris piles were first measured and inaccuracies in those measurements went unnoticed.

Initial measurements indicated the county had as much as 38,000 cubic yards of debris, however, subsequent measurements have shown the county to only have 6,500 cubic yards of debris.

Walker said it’s not clear as to why the intial estimates, provided by MEMA, were so much higher than the secondary estimates.

“It’s been confusing all the way around,” she said.

But the smaller quantity of debris to be disposed of amounts to a much smaller chipping bill.

Adams County has partnered with local contractor Dozer Contractors to turn the year-old storm debris into woodchips.

Chipping for 6,500 cubic yards of debris will cost the county $17,500, in the event there is more debris than the secondary measurements have indicated Dozer will charge the county $700 an hour for chipping.

Walker said MEMA representatives will be in the county to measure the debris before its destroyed to guarantee an accurate measurement is taken.

“Right now, we’re just glad to see it’s being taken care of,” Walker said.

Dozer could begin disposing of the debris as early as Wednesday.

Once completed, the county will be reimbursed for the work.