CYPREMORT POINT — A crew out of Texas is working to tear down camps damaged by Hurricane Rita last Septembere.

“We have a total of 46 camps and houses identified by FEMA and have gotten the okay for demolition,” said St. Mary Parish President Paul Naquin.

According to Naquin, 11 of those structures have been identified as containing asbestos.

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“We have a total of 17 right now demolished already. On the 11th, we will get quotes on removing asbestos,” he said.

Drewery Construction Co. of Nacogdoches, Texas, is the contractor working on demolitions. About three or four local crews will be called in to help with the work.

Naquin said the parish will contact firms within the parish that have the capabilities to handle asbestos abatement.

“We will contact the local people that do this type of work. They will stay on our list right now to contact,” he said.

“We went in and inspected the structures for any asbestos-containing materials. We identified 11 structures that had some sort of material, maybe roofing shingles or siding or flooring material or something like that. It has been identified as having some type of asbestos,” said St. Mary Parish Chief Administrative Officer Henry “Bo” LaGrange.

“Those 11 structures, we are preparing a bid package to go to licensed, qualified asbestos contractors to give us prices to go in and abate that material out of the structure before we go and demolish it. This is a FEMA/EPA regulation we have to follow.”

LaGrange said there are different prices depending upon what type of structure is being demolished.

“Demolition of a mobile home is $5,000. That’s demolishing the home and taking it to a landfill for disposal. A mobile home with an addition to it is $7,500. A wood-frame structure is $9,000. That’s the contract we have with a private contractor to do the work,” he said.

LaGrange estimated there are about 500 structures at Cypremort Point. About 10 percent are being demolished.

“There were many other structures that were damaged, but not damaged were they to the point where the owners just abandoned them and said ‘come demolish it.’ You have a percentage that’s unrepaired too. You have a larger percentage that is unrepaired than demolished,” he said.

“Within the next 30 to 45 days, we should be complete with that project. It depends on how fast we can get the asbestos abated out of those 11. As soon as we abate it, we’ll demolish it.”

Once the structures are demolished, the landowners will be able to come in and rebuild according to guidelines.

“The landowners will rebuild to our flood zone requirements and structural requirements for storm winds and elevations for surge. Anyone that rebuilds, will follow those guidelines,” LaGrange said.

The parish’s base flood elevations require that any structures built in Cypremort Point be built 17 to 18 feet above sea level. According to LaGrange, the base flood elevations for Cypremort Point are 17 to 18 feet depending on where the structure is located. The advisory base flood elevation following Hurricane Rita calls for structures to be built one foot above the base flood elevations. LaGrange said anyone who wants to build a structure in the Cypremort Point area should contact the parish’s permit office to get started.