GLO Reviewing HUD Applications for Harris County Projects Totaling Half Billion Dollars
The Texas General Land Office (GLO) is currently conducting a final review on more than $498 million in grant applications from Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) and Harris County Community Services Department (CSD). That’s out of a total allocation of $1,072,033,863 allocated to Harris County. And that means projects for almost half the Harvey money allocated to Harris County will soon go to Washington for a final review by HUD.
Additional applications for the rest of the money will soon follow the projects listed below. They will be submitted “on a rolling basis,” according to Brittany Eck, a GLO spokesperson.
The GLO administers all HUD funds in the state of Texas.
GLO Working Side by Side with Harris County
GLO has a “Strike Team” embedded at HCFCD headquarters, working side by side with both CSD and HCFCD to eliminate any delays on the HUD applications. The billion dollars allocated to the county falls into several different programs, each with different deadlines and complex rules.
“We are currently in the ‘Eligibility Phase,’ which is the most critical, but also the most time consuming. During this phase we must ensure that the projects proposed sync with HUD regulations in terms of LMI beneficiaries, environmental impacts and more,” said Eck.
No Performance Benchmarks Missed So Far
“It is important to note that Harris County has not missed a performance benchmark yet on the HUD applications. The GLO is working with Harris County to ensure all administrative paperwork is completed in accordance with federal regulations. This protects both Harris County and the State of Texas from incurring costly ‘findings’ during the post-project audit process.”
A finding during a post-project audit could potentially cause HUD to claw back part of its grant money. So it’s vitally important to ensure all regulations are followed to the letter.
Three Main Batches of Money
The three main pots of money include:
- Harris County CSD – $208,152,174 in CDBG-MIT funds
- HCFCD – $322,033,863 in CDBG-DR funds
- HCFCD – $541,847,826 in CDBG-MIT funds
That brings the total of original allocations to $1,072,033,863.
Since this involves the government, it also includes acronyms. So let me explain some of the terms.
CDBG stands for Community Development Block Grants. These grants provide communities with resources to address a wide range of development needs, providing projects meet one or more of HUD’s three defined national objectives. Namely, a CDBG project must:
- Benefit to low- and moderate- income (LMI) persons
- Aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight and/or
- Meet an urgent need (UN), especially one impacting public health and safety.
But what about the rest of those acronyms?
- DR stands for Disaster Relief
- MIT stands for Mitigation.
What’s the difference? According to HUD, CDBG-DR grants provide housing, infrastructure, and economic revitalization assistance to impacted areas. The CDBG-Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) program provides additional funding to lessen the impact of future disasters.
To learn more about HUD applications for the specific Harris County projects, see below.
Harris County CDBG-MIT
Harris County Community Services Department was allocated $208,152,174 in CDBG-MIT funds for infrastructure, planning, and project delivery.
The contract was executed on 08/31/2022. All projects in this batch of funding must close out by 8/31/27.
The $208 million breaks down into three subcategories.
- Infrastructure programs – $154 million
- Planning programs – $37.5 million
- Project delivery – $16.7 million
Infrastructure Programs
Of 11 projects initially proposed in this category, the three largest in terms of dollar amounts – totaling $75M of the $154M – have been submitted for preliminary review.
| $37,500,000.00 | Pine Trails Subdivision Drainage Improvements Involves upgrading approximately 63,650 LF of drainage systems and developing two (2) detention ponds in Harris County Precinct No. 2. 66.97% LMI |
| $20,545,326.00 | Ralston Acres Subdivision Drainage Improvements Involves upgrading approximately 15,250 LF of drainage systems and developing two (2) detention ponds in Harris County Precinct No. 1 and Ralston Acres Subdivision. Income Surveys TBD |
| $16,954,674.00 | North Forest Subdivision Drainage Improvements Involves upgrading approximately 19,700 LF of drainage systems and developing one (1) detention pond in Harris County Precinct No. 1 and the North Forest Subdivision. Income Surveys TBD |
Planning Programs
Four projects – costing a total of $16.5M out of the $37.5 million – have been submitted for preliminary review out of the 23 proposed planning projects.
| $500,000.00 | Harris County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan The Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management is seeking to update the Harris County Hazard Mitigation Plan. The plan will develop strategies and action items to minimize vulnerabilities and damages and include 37 participating jurisdictions. |
| $12,500,000.00 | Drainage Master Plan for Unincorporated Harris County The planning project will evaluate drainage infrastructure capacity status and deficiencies in Harris County’s unincorporated areas. It will also guide the identification and implementation of mitigation alternatives to reduce flood risk. |
| $500,000.00 | Halls Bayou Watershed Flood Risk Analysis Study The scope of the Halls Bayou watershed study is to analyze the best available data incorporating the Halls Bayou watershed flood risk reduction-related project and to evaluate existing program benefits using the new Atlas 14 precipitation data to identify additional potential flood reduction needs within the watershed. |
| $3,000,000.00 | The Evacuation Routes Study The Evacuation Routes Study aims to enhance transportation resilience in road-flooding-prone areas of Unincorporated Harris County. |
Project Delivery:
$16,652,174 of the $208,152,174 County allocation will be used to administer the funds for projects.
HCFCD Disaster Relief
HCFCD was allocated $322,033,863 in CDBG-DR funds for infrastructure projects.
HCFCD submitted 13 projects costing a total of $317,494,724.78 for CDBG-DR grants and is putting up local funds in the amount of $45,899,821 for those same projects. All of the applications have been officially submitted and are being reviewed for HUD eligibility completeness by the GLO.
The HCFCD/CDBG-DR contract was executed on 11/27/2023 and must be closed out by 3/31/2026. The 13 projects include:
| $20,361,143.56 | Arbor Oaks Stormwater Detention Basin To construct one 431-acre-feet stormwater detention basin within the White Oak Bayou watershed. 60.55% LMI |
| $20,247,760.00 | Isom Stormwater Detention Basin To construct one 550-acre-feet regional stormwater detention basin within Halls Bayou. 74.23% LMI |
| $8,692,644.00 | Lauder Stormwater Detention Basin To construct one 341.47-acre-feet stormwater detention basin within Greens Bayou. 78.10% LMI |
| $20,361,143.56 | Brookglen Stormwater Detention Basin To construct one 33.45 acre-feet stormwater detention basin within Armand Bayou Watershed. 52.54% LMI |
| $25,390,047.00 | Kluge Stormwater Detention Basin – Phase 3 To construct one 350 acre-feet stormwater detention basin within Little Cypress Creek watershed. 14.25% LMI but qualifies under Urgent Need |
| $77,899,107.00 | Greens Bayou Mid-Reach Channel Conveyance Improvements To rehabilitate 19,008 LF of channel conveyance along Greens Bayou. 78.61% LMI |
| $18,878,499.00 | Cypress Creek Channel Rehabilitation, Main Stem, Batch 5 To rehabilitate 7,500 LF of channel conveyance along Cypress Creek. 49.18% LMI, but qualifies under Urgent Need |
| $36,710,019.00 | Dinner Creek Stormwater Detention Basin ‐ Phase 1 To construct two (2) detention basins, northwest and southeast of Dinner Creek. 52.36% LMI |
| $7,642,742.00 | Barker Reservoir Channel Rehabilitation, Repair Package 2 To rehabilitate 18,528 LF of channel conveyance at 19 different sites along Barker Reservoir. 21.64% LMI but qualifies under Urgent Need |
| $9,742,750.00 | Stormwater Detention Basin along Jackson Bayou To rehabilitate 2,025 LF of channel conveyance and construct one (1) 15 acre-feet stormwater detention basin within Jackson Bayou. 60.78% LMI |
| $23,496,000.00 | Addicks Reservoir Channel Rehabilitation & Restoration, Repair Package 3 To rehabilitate 49,296 LF of channel conveyance at 49 sites along the Addicks Reservoir. 37.04% LMI but qualifies under Urgent Need |
| $23,844,000.00 | East TC Jester Detention Basin – Compartment 1B To construct one 725 acre-feet stormwater detention basin within the Cypress Creek watershed. 36.14% but qualifies under Urgent Need |
| $12,293,732.00 | Keegans Bayou Stormwater Detention Basin Near Old Richmond Road – Phase 1 To construct one stormwater detention basin within the Brays Bayou watershed. 56.71% LMI |
HCFCD CDBG-MIT
Harris County Flood Control District was allocated $541,847,826.00 in CDBG-MIT funds for infrastructure hazard mitigation projects.
Five projects – totaling $73 million – have been submitted for preliminary HUD eligibility completeness review out of the 19 mitigation projects originally proposed.
Overall Contract Status: Contract executed 11/07/2023
Projected Closeout: March 31, 2028
| $3,235,715.00 | Halls Bayou Channel Conveyance Improvements Downstream of Hopper (HALLS HOPPER) Includes widening approximately 4,525 LF of the existing channel along the left (east) bank from downstream of Hopper Road to just upstream of Pinewood Village Park. 70.03% LMI |
| $10,427,946.00 | Hahl North Stormwater Detention Basin (Hahl North) Includes construction of one 220 acres-feet of stormwater detention basin adjacent to Halls Bayou and the widening of approximately 2,100 LF of the existing channel along Halls Bayou. 73.65% LMI |
| $17,300,036.00 | West TC Jester Stormwater Detention Basin Will create one 414 acre-feet stormwater detention basin in the Cypress Creek watershed. 36.13% LMI but qualifies under Urgent Need |
| $11,987,888.00 | Taylor Gully Channel Conveyance Improvements Includes approximately 13,118 LF of stormwater drainage channel improvements in the affected stretch of channel. 20.92% LMI but qualifies under Urgent Need |
| $30,007,445.00 | Boudreaux Stormwater Detention Basin – Phase 1 Will build one 458 acre-feet stormwater detention basin west of Holderrieth Road along Willow Creek. 33.59% LMI but qualifies under Urgent Need |
Even though some projects drop below the 50% threshold, as a group they meet the requirement. Those that fall below the threshold also qualify under HUD’s Urgent Need mandate.
Extensions Requested, But Not Yet Confirmed
GLO has requested extensions for all these projects. While HUD reportedly seems favorable, written confirmation has not yet been received. That places a premium on HUD applications that can be executed quickly.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/19/24 based on information provided by the Texas GLO
2394 Days since Hurricane Harvey
