Cedar Bayou Floodplain-Fill Situation Worsening

3/12/26 – According to the Office of the Harris County Engineer, TXDoT’s prime contractor on the FM2100 expansion operation and a subcontractor have been told to refrain from bringing additional fill into the floodplain of Cedar Bayou. Mr. Yancey Scott, PE, CFM, Assistant Director of Permits, said the County Attorney’s Office hand delivered a letter on 3/5/26 notifying them to stop placing fill in the floodplain.

I have not photographed them bringing any more fill into the floodplain since then. However, the situation does appear to be worsening. Someone is spreading the fill out over an area three times larger on the same property. Now, instead of reaching 20-30 feet up over approximately six acres, it’s being spread across 17 acres.

Imagine standing up in full bathtub, then lying down. You will displace more water when lying because your “footprint” increases. It’s the same with the fill.

History of Operation

For months, TXDoT contractors working on the FM2100 expansion project in Huffman were excavating a detention basin above the floodplain in the Luce Bayou watershed. From there, they trucked the dirt to the Cedar Bayou watershed and dumped it in the floodplain, reportedly without a permit. I first captured the dumping on camera on Feb. 5, 2026.

Despite seemingly violating Section 4.07(e) of Harris County’s Floodplain Regulations, the operation had shifted into an even higher gear by Feb. 23, 2026.

On Feb. 25, 2026, Harris County first shut down the operation. According to local residents, the contractor started hauling the dirt to an alternative site in Liberty County.

But by March 4, 2026, I photographed more trucks bringing more fill to the original property in the Cedar Bayou floodplain on Huffman Eastgate Road. This time they spread it out, though, in the northern part of the red box below.

*Current effective FEMA Floodplain Map dated 6/18/2007*. *Aqua colored area is 100-year floodplain. Note how floodplain extends past Inter-basin Transfer Canal at top of frame.*

*3/4/26.* *I witnessed a steady parade of dump trucks coming from the FM2100 excavation site and dumping their loads* *near the Inter-Basin Transfer Canal at top of frame.*

*3/4/26.* *As fast as the belly dump trucks would empty their loads, a bulldozer spread them out.*

*Meanwhile, more trucks dropped their loads on the southern edge of the red box in the floodplain.* *Both northern and southern areas were receiving dirt on 3/4/26.*

I watched with an incredulous neighbor who had flooded repeatedly, as the steady stream of dump trucks dropped their loads.

Then on Sunday, March 8, I returned. The site was quiet. But I noticed a sizable portion of the original pile on the southern edge of the property was missing.

*3.8.26. Sunday. Large Portion of fill had been relocated to area behind camera.*

*3.8.26*. *Fill from upper right was added to new fill in lower left.*

On March 10, Doug Begley, a staff writer for the Houston Chronicle published his expose of the operation.

Photos Taken on 3/12/26

On 3/12/26, I returned and learned what happened to that chunk of the southern pile. The contractors were spreading it out over the rest of the property along with previously deposited new fill straight from FM2100.

*Cedar Bayou floodplain fill on 3/12/26. Original pile (right) is now being spread out over property to the north (l).*

*3/12/26. Relocated Cedar Bayou floodplain fill is already higher than fence line. Note height of fill in distance relative to height of trees on left.*

*3/12/26. Looking S toward the original pile.*

To put the volume of this fill in perspective, the height of that truck in the foreground is 11’3″. The excavator is completely above it, yet below the bulldozer at the top of the frame, which is still below the top of the pile in the upper frame.

Engineering Department Still Hasn’t Complied with FOIA Request

Floodplain regulations generally prohibit placing fill in either the 500- or 100-year floodplain. They also discourage moving fill from one watershed to another.

This operation reportedly began without a permit. To get a permit, the land owner had to submit a hydrologist’s report explaining how the fill would be mitigated.

I have tried without luck to obtain copies of the supposed report and permit for more than two weeks. At first, I was blocked from making a public information request on the Harris County Engineer’s website. By the time I could make the request, a week had elapsed. Now, almost another week has passed. And they haven’t started processing the request yet.

In the meantime, I talked to five county employees via phone or email, none of whom would (or could) send me the alleged permit and study. I also noted many conflicts between their stories as to the supposed dates of the permit, the cease-and-desist letter, engineer’s study, how/where to report violations, etc.

Only one thing is clear. We may never get to the bottom of all this dirt.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/12/26

3117 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.