ST. LOUIS — City leaders have asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take charge of cleanup from the May tornado that plowed through north St. Louis, and officials are on tenterhooks waiting for a response.

If the Corps takes over, the debris could be gone in six to eight months, city officials said in a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. If the Corps doesn’t, it could take three times as long.

That may be time the city doesn’t have, officials say. Nearly 90 days after the tornado hit, they’re working to rebuild neighborhoods that were struggling long before the May 16 storm. Such a delay in cleanup would postpone redevelopment, leave hazardous materials in place, allow crumbling buildings to collapse, and, eventually, drive residents from the city.

The speed of clean

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