Editorial: The Secrecy Police and Flood Risk
3/16/26 – If you’ve ever requested public records via the Texas Public Information Act, you know how difficult obtaining them can be. Your success depends, to a large degree, on how embarrassing they could potentially be to a public official.
Want to know how the School Land Board, a group within the Texas General Land Office, got involved in a deal to develop 5300+ acres on some of the most flood-prone land in Southeast Texas that was owned by Scarborough Development? Good luck with that!
How Do They Explain This One?
I initially asked the GLO’s press office about it and was told the land wasn’t in the floodplain. After I showed them flood maps, the GLO “went dark,” as they say in the media business.
This land lies at the confluence of four major waters: the San Jacinto West Fork, Spring Creek, Cypress Creek and Turkey Creek.
So, it’s not surprising that new flood maps recently updated by FEMA show dramatic expansion of both the floodway and floodplains.
Somebody Please Send a Wake-Up Call To Austin
Harris County and the City of Houston have already unanimously passed resolutions against developing the land.
Montgomery County Precinct 3 took a road through the proposed development off of its 2025 Road Bond.
MoCo Engineering demanded a second way into and out of the development, which a bridge across Spring Creek would have provided. But Harris County Flood Control did NOT approve building a bridge across Spring Creek.
One of the most respected hydrologists in the region has said that if the land gets developed, “it would be like aiming a firehose at Humble and Kingwood.”
At least two state reps have tried to get to the bottom of this with little success.
Nearby neighbors who got wind of the deal and fear flooding from it have been trying since 2025 to understand why the state got involved and what the extent of the state’s involvement is?
Stop Sign at the End of the Information Superhighway
The GLO did not produce the requested records for the neighbors. Instead, GLO asked the Texas Attorney General whether it had to release the records.
This morning, the neighbors received a letter from the AG’s office to Ms. Hadassah Schloss, Director of Open Government at the GLO. The letter to Ms. Schloss by Michelle Garza, Assistant Attorney General in the Open Records Division, says GLO does NOT have to produce the requested records.
So, at this point we don’t know:
- Whether the deal is on or off
- How much the state invested
- If the investment is wise
- Whether the state can back out without incurring a penalty
- What options the GLO and developer are considering
- Why the state contended the land was not in a floodplain even though FEMA Maps clearly show it is
- Why a state agency charged with flood mitigation is investing in a development likely to make flooding worse.
I’ve never met Ms. Schloss. I’m sure she’s a nice person. But I couldn’t help noticing the irony in her name. In German, “Schloss” means a fortified castle with high walls, often surrounded by a moat to help fend off invading forces. Schloss can also mean “a lock,” as in “locked” doors. And yet, Ms. Schloss is the Director of Open Government for the GLO. But I digress.
Basically, we have government by secrecy.
Bob Rehak
We do know, however, that two executives of Scarborough Lane Development (Ryan Burkhardt and James R. Feagin), the Dallas-based developer behind the deal, made substantial contributions to the re-election campaigns of both Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham and Governor Greg Abbott.
But hey! The secrecy police did their job.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/16/26
3121 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.
