Council Orders Quake Debris Removal Plan : Health: Fears that rubble could provide breeding grounds for rats add urgency. About 120,000 tons of waste have piled up since U.S. program ended.

Fearing an impending health hazard, a Los Angeles City Council panel called on public works officials Tuesday to draft a plan by next week to clear away earthquake debris that has accumulated since a federally funded cleanup program ended last month.

Since the program ran out of funds July 17, about 120,000 tons of quake debris have piled up on city streets, according to street maintenance officials, who say they can only haul away 300 tons each week.

“At this rate, it will literally take years” to clear away everything, said William White, assistant director for street maintenance.

Members of the council’s Ad Hoc Earthquake Recovery Committee said the debris may become a health hazard and a breeding ground for rats and other vermin.

Councilwoman Laura Chick said her office has received more than 500 calls from residents complaining about illegally dumped rubble since the federal program ended.

Art Aguirre, deputy director for the county’s Environmental Health Services Department, said the debris piles can be rat breeding grounds if they include material that vermin can live on, such as wood, paper and leftover food and trash.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency ended the cleanup program after spending $233 million to haul away 2.3 million tons of rubble in the 18 months since the quake.

During the program, the city hired about 65 crews to remove curbside debris. Without the federal funds, the city has only two crews to cover the entire city, White said.

But members of the earthquake recovery committee said two crews are not enough and instructed the city’s engineering and street maintenance departments to draft a cleanup plan by next week.