MCCOMB, Miss. (AP) — A board has voted to reject a bid to demolish properties in Mississippi and seek bids for a smaller number of properties.

The Enterprise-Journal reports Public Works Director Chuck Lambert told selectmen Tuesday that the bid for demolishing 19 properties came above the $40,000 McComb had budgeted for the project.

Lambert says state Department of Environmental Quality rules played a role in the retreat and retry. Unless certain procedures are followed, he says every building must have asbestos testing, which would cost about $600 per building.
He says buildings found to have asbestos may have to be kept encapsulated and or possibly kept wet to keep asbestos dust from blowing off the property.

Lambert says McComb can maneuver around the testing requirement by razing one house on a block per year.