Friendswood City Council unanimously approved an extension of the city's disaster declaration during an emergency meeting at 2 p.m. on Aug. 31 after Hurricane Harvey dropped up to 50 inches of rain on the city between Aug. 25-29. The disaster declaration initially went into effect on Aug. 24 and would have expired on Aug. 31 without an extension. The extension remains in effect indefinitely until council rescinds the disaster declaration. Without the extension, the city would be ineligible for FEMA reimbursements for disaster-related expenses. "It was required to continue to be eligible for [FEMA] reimbursmenets for recovery efforts," said Friendswood City Manager Roger Roecker. "It's just one of the legal hoops and requirements we had to go through to ensure we're ready for them. We'll be meeting with our contractors with contracts pre-approved and in place." The city is contracting with debris-removal company Crowder Gulf LLC, which specializes in disaster-related debris removal. Crowder Gulf was also the city's contractor during Hurricane Ike, officials said. Friendswood City Council also agreed to waive all permitting fees and as contractors work to rebuild and renovate homes during the emergency meeting. Homeowners working on their property do not have to file for a city permit. All contractors are required to register with the city of Friendswood before they can conduct business in the city. Registered contractors will receive a license from the city. Residents are encouraged to view a contractor's license to limit potential exposure to scams. "They should have something issued from the city of Friendswood before you let them go to work on your house," said Friendswood Mayor Kevin Holland. Although the city can't guarantee all businesses issued a license will act in good faith, the city will collect information through the permitting process that residents will have access to in any event. Permits will be issued starting Friday, Sept. 1 and through the weekend. "It's so we know who is here," Roecker said. "The city, we can't guarantee anything about them, but we at least know. We have contact information as opposed to leaving it upon the citizens to make sure the company they are working with is legitimate." An estimated 3,000 homes were flooded during the storm, according to estimates from the Friendswood Police Department. A citywide damage assessment is anticipated to begin on Sept. 1, said Friendswood Assistant City Manager Morad Kabiri. Debris removal is expected to begin the week of Sept. 3, officials said. A collection schedule will be released soon. Normal trash and recycling removal operations began on Aug. 31. Trash and recycling will not be collected Sunday but will be collected on Labor Day, Sept. 4. Only debris that has been appropriately sorted and placed on the curb will be collected, officials said. Here's how to separate debris:

• Vegetative waste: trees, tree limbs, leaves, shrubs, etc.
• Construction and demolition: carpet, furniture, gypsum board and roof shingles, etc.
• White goods: dryers, refrigerators, washers and other large appliances
• Household hazardous materials: cleaners, paints, etc.

“That’s not a joke; it has to be segregated that way for it to work," said Adrien Hill, president of Hill Sand Company Inc., a landfill that is accepting trash collected by the Friendswood debris removal contractor. Refrigerators should be emptied of food before being set outside for removal. Debris should not be piled near gas meters, mailboxes, intersections, stop signs or other traffic signage, according to the city. In order to collect trash and debris, residents are urged to park on only one side of the street. Emergency personnel on fire trucks, fire apparatus and ambulances as well as garbage collection trucks are unable to pass through narrow residential streets due to the overwhelming number of cars parked on both sides of the street, officials said. Friendswood Police Department is not ruling out impounding cars that are impeding emergency access. "If [the car] is inoperable and parked there on the side of the road and it's impeding fire and EMS, yeah we're going to go ahead and clear the roadways," said Friendswood Chief of Police Robert Wieners. Residents can call 281-996-3300 to locate their impounded vehicles using the license plate number.