Crews have picked up roughly 290,000 cubic yards of hurricane-related debris from Calcasieu Parish drainage laterals since starting the work in mid-October, one official said Thursday.

The entire job involves removing debris left behind by Hurricanes Laura and Delta from 1,315 miles of drainage laterals parishwide. Jade Miller, an engineer with the Calcasieu Public Works division, told police jurors that crews have already finished 30 percent of phase one, which includes the high-priority, larger laterals that drain into larger watersheds. The phase makes up 506 miles of drainage laterals parishwide.

“To date, we’ve approximated about 50 percent of the debris is going to be in this phase,” Miller said. “We still have many months in phase one. We’re a good way out before we hit phase two, but we’re making a lot of progress to get there.”

Miller said $24 million has been spent on the effort so far. The parish is seeking reimbursement from FEMA for 90 percent of the project’s cost, anticipated at $100 million. The parish and the two drainage districts in Calcasieu will share the other 10 percent.

The second phase makes up 221 miles of drainage laterals parishwide, or 17 percent of the whole project, Miller said. These laterals are identified as repetitive loss claims.

Phases three and four make up 620 miles of drainage laterals, or 43 percent of the whole cleanup effort. Most of these laterals, he said, are in rural areas.

“It’s a lot of miles of laterals, but not as much debris,” he said. “That’s why it’s in the latter phase.”

Miller said the parish spent plenty of time securing permits and making plans to allow the debris clearing to continue uninterrupted through each phase. He said permits are still being secured for the third and fourth phases.

Police jurors on Thursday approved updating the payment terms between the project’s contractor, Crowder Gulf, and Tetra Tech, the company monitoring the debris removal, to allow for a higher cap. Parish Administrator Bryan Beam said the parish pays these companies directly and submits the bills to FEMA to seek the 90 percent reimbursement.

“Until they get in and start removing the debris, they don’t know how much is in those laterals,” Beam said.

Throughout the project, the parish must document that the debris cleared from drainage laterals is directly related to Hurricanes Laura and Delta.