(Note: Within an hour of posting this, I received additional information from a source familiar with Federal grants and have updated the section on Funding below.) Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) and Sprint Sand & Clay have ended their Woodridge Village excavation and removal (E&R) contract. As of Friday afternoon, 11/24/23, Sprint had removed all of its equipment from the worksite, including the construction trailer at the entrance. See photos below.
Empty entrance on Woodland Hills where construction trailer once stood.Looking NE at extent of excavation for new detention basin.Same basin, but looking in opposite direction toward SW.
This will pause construction of additional stormwater detention capacity on Woodridge Village property.
Why did the contract end?
Funding Played Role in E&R Contract Termination
The new stormwater detention basin on HCFCD’s Woodridge Village property was part of a much larger project involving improvements to Taylor Gully. The combined Taylor Gully/Woodridge Village project involved funding from multiple sources:
U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw secured federal funding for Taylor Gully improvements in March 2022.
The Texas Water Development Board approved additional state funding in May.
Last summer, HCFCD also recommended the Taylor Gully/Woodridge project(s) for GLO/U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) CDBG-MIT funding.
The last comes with a firm, tight deadline for spending the money – Jan. 12, 2027 – three years away. It also comes with other “process” restrictions dictated by the CDBG-MIT funding.
Harris County requested a deadline extension. But because of the holiday, it is not clear whether HUD granted it.
Also, since originally posting this, an expert in Federal grants wrote to say, “The excavation and removal at Woodridge had to stop because Federal funds require a process to be followed. The excavation project that will be funded by CDBG mitigation funds has to follow NEPA (the National Environmental Policy Act). It does not allow any activity until NEPA has been cleared. Once the site was officially approved for CDBG mitigation funds, everything had to stop. The agreement with GLO was executed a week or two ago.”
“A similar thing happened to the Sprint excavation and removal at the Dinner Creek Basin,” he added. “It’s one of those sad facts about federal grants. You have to follow their process and everything is done in a linear fashion.”
Flexible E&R Contracts Allow Early Termination
HCFCD’s excavation and removal contracts are very flexible. They let HCFCD get a head start on construction as it worked out financing, design and other project details.
The terms of Sprint’s E&R contract let Sprint excavate up to 500,000 cubic yards of material and sell the dirt on the private market to make a profit. Sprint was meeting its 5,000 cubic-yard/month minimum. They averaged 6,000 to 7,000 cubic yards per month during the last two years.
By the end of October, the company excavated 156,478 cubic yards – about a third of the maximum. However, the additional two-thirds at the current rate would have missed the HUD deadline by at least two years.
If there’s good news here, it’s that:
The amount excavated to date already puts the site very close to meeting Atlas-14 requirements. The “head start” worked.
Once construction resumes, it could sharply accelerate.
Final HCFCD Recommendations Not Yet Revealed
In December 2022, engineers presented their preliminary plans to the Kingwood community and sought public input on four alternatives. Their recommended alternative included:
Expanding a portion of Taylor Gully and lining it with concrete.
Building yet another 412 acre-foot stormwater detention basin on Woodridge Village.
Replacing the culverts at Rustling Elms with a clear-span bridge.
HCFCD has not yet revealed final construction plans to the community. But it appears that the pot is starting to boil. Stay tuned. More news will follow soon.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/26/23
2280 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20231124-DJI_0161.jpg?fit=1100%2C733&ssl=17331100adminadmin2023-11-26 14:04:332023-11-26 16:19:04Woodridge Village Excavation and Removal Contract Ends
In two weeks, approximately 40 acres timber has turned into toothpicks at the new Northpark South development. Clearing is now about two-thirds to three-quarters complete.
The development lies between Sorters-McClellan Road and the West Fork San Jacinto at the end of Northpark Drive. The developer, Century Land Holdings of Texas, LLC, hopes to build 236 homes, driveways, roads, and an 11.2 acre stormwater detention basin on a total of 54.4 acres.
If that sounds like a lot, Century has already applied for a variance from the City of Houston Planning Commission to create lots less than 5,000 square feet. Regardless, RG Miller Engineering still claims impervious cover will not exceed 66%. But that’s not the only curious takeaway from the RG Miller report.
No Mention of Wetlands
To achieve such density, Century will pave over wetlands. But the RG Miller report makes no mention of wetlands.
National Wetlands Inventory shows wetlands in middle on far right.
USGS has documented wetlands on this property since at least 1961, as you can see in this topographic map viewer.
However the developer apparently has not received a wetland development permit from the Army Corps.
In addition, the imagery showing the wetlands (the empty crescent-wrench-shaped area in middle right of blue outline) is misdated.
The caption in the drainage analysis says the image is from 2018. But the homes in the top left of the frame were not built until late 2020. And the image itself is from late 2021. So why would the image below be dated two years earlier.
Compare a Google Earth image taken on 2/23/2019 – before the onset of drought. When you zoom in a bit, you get a clearly different impression.
Scrolling back through 30 years of historical images in Google Earth shows evidence of periodic pondingin this location and distinctly different vegetationfrom the surrounding area.
Was the RG Miller image accidentally mislabeled or an attempt to show drier conditions that didn’t scream “wetlands”? We’ll probably never know.
According to one environmental expert I consulted, developers very often have consultants who assert that there are no wetlands on property. Therefore, they feel, there’s no need to involve USACE “because a permit isn’t necessary.”
The expert said, “In my mind, they are betting on not getting caught. They can save a lot of money by avoiding permits and those savings are apparently worth the risk.”
It’s also possible that the latest Supreme Court ruling on “Waters of the U.S.,” removed federal government protection for these wetlands. In that case, these wetlands would not require permitting.
Problems Building over Wetlands
The expert continued, “Comparing this information to the plans, it looks like there will be residential streets and houses on top of the historic wetlands. I would NOT feel safe living on top of a former wetland this close to the river. NO WAY! The land has a memory, deep in its soils, and I would expect future issues.”
Current Status of Clearing
I took the photos below on the afternoon of Friday, 11/24/23.
Looking west at extent of clearing in last two weeks. West Fork is beyond sand pits near top of frame.NorthPark Drive runs off bottom of frame.Looking E toward Kingwood. Detention basin will stretch between the woods on left and the road on right in the area close to camera.Basin will drain into pond in lower right foreground.Looking N toward a sister development (Northpark Woods) by same developer. Sand pit middle left belongs to another company.
High-Water Mark Shows Potential Danger
The image below shows where the new development sits in relation to the river and the high-water mark during Harvey.
Extent of flooding during Harvey relative to new development, according to nearby resident.Looking west down Northpark toward San Jacinto West Fork.
While Harvey was an extreme storm, keep in mind that pre-Harvey flood maps show inundation potential across most of Northpark South. And the new post-Harvey flood maps, which have not yet been released, will take in even more of the new development.
Buyer beware. There’s plenty here to chew on. Toothpick anyone?
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/25/23
2279 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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20231124-DJI_0134.jpg?fit=1100%2C733&ssl=17331100adminadmin2023-11-25 13:51:352023-11-25 14:22:0840 Acres of Timber Turned into Toothpicks
FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance Division is attempting to speed up disaster relief with its Swift Current program. The goal is to shorten the disaster/repair cycle for repetitively flooded or substantially damaged properties.
According to a FEMA press release, “Swift Current strives to better align the delivery of flood mitigation funding with the disaster survivor experience. Swift Current seeks to speed up the availability of flood mitigation funding to disaster survivors.”
Rather than rely on annual grant cycles, Swift Current makes money available immediately from a pool of $3.5 billion under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This is the second of several rounds of assistance.
The application period for this round opened on Nov. 15, 2023 and will close on Jan. 15, 2025. The funding opportunity is available on Grants.gov.
Eligibility Criteria
For Fiscal Year 2023, Swift Current Flood Mitigation Assistance will offer $300 million after flood disasters for eligible individual flood mitigation projects. Eligible projects include:
Repetitively flooded or substantially damaged properties…
Insured by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)…
Following a flood-related disaster event.
Local government agencies must apply for grants first; individuals will be considered sub-applicants and must apply through the local government agency.
You or your local government relief agency can use grants to:
Acquire property, demolish structures and relocate residents
Elevate structures
Dry flood-proof historic residential structures or non-residential structures
Retrofit existing structures and facilities
Mitigate reconstruction
Applicants will meet eligibility criteria if they have received a major disaster declaration for a flood-related disaster event between June 1, 2023 – May 31, 2024. Flood-related disaster events include coastal storms, hurricanes, remnants of hurricanes, and floods. Additionally, one of the following criteria must be met:
The state has at least $1 million in prior National Flood Insurance Program claims from June 1, 2022 to disasters declared before May 31, 2024.
The state has 500 or more National Flood Insurance Program claims in a declared flood-related disaster event from June 1, 2022 to May 31, 2024.
75% – 100% Federal Cost Share
Swift Current funds for individual flood-mitigation projects fall into several different categories:
Repetitive Loss
Severe Repetitive Loss
Substantially Damaged
Socially Vulnerable
See below. The federal match varies depending on the category.
All eligible applicants must submit their FY 2023 Swift Current grant applications to FEMA via Mitigation eGrants. Upon Swift Current activation, the application deadline date will be provided to the applicant. All applications must be received by the deadline.
Local governments should consult with their state, tribal, or territorial agency to confirm deadline to submit subapplications for consideration.
This program is sorely needed and highly welcome. I know people whose homes have not yet been repaired from Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/24/23 with thanks to Congressman Dan Crenshaw
2278 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20231124-Screenshot-2023-11-24-at-11.30.13%E2%80%AFAM.jpg?fit=1100%2C487&ssl=14871100adminadmin2023-11-24 13:05:042023-11-24 20:54:47FEMA’s Swift Current Program Attempts to Speed Up Disaster Recovery Assistance
Woodridge Village Excavation and Removal Contract Ends
(Note: Within an hour of posting this, I received additional information from a source familiar with Federal grants and have updated the section on Funding below.) Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) and Sprint Sand & Clay have ended their Woodridge Village excavation and removal (E&R) contract. As of Friday afternoon, 11/24/23, Sprint had removed all of its equipment from the worksite, including the construction trailer at the entrance. See photos below.
This will pause construction of additional stormwater detention capacity on Woodridge Village property.
Why did the contract end?
Funding Played Role in E&R Contract Termination
The new stormwater detention basin on HCFCD’s Woodridge Village property was part of a much larger project involving improvements to Taylor Gully. The combined Taylor Gully/Woodridge Village project involved funding from multiple sources:
The last comes with a firm, tight deadline for spending the money – Jan. 12, 2027 – three years away. It also comes with other “process” restrictions dictated by the CDBG-MIT funding.
Harris County requested a deadline extension. But because of the holiday, it is not clear whether HUD granted it.
Also, since originally posting this, an expert in Federal grants wrote to say, “The excavation and removal at Woodridge had to stop because Federal funds require a process to be followed. The excavation project that will be funded by CDBG mitigation funds has to follow NEPA (the National Environmental Policy Act). It does not allow any activity until NEPA has been cleared. Once the site was officially approved for CDBG mitigation funds, everything had to stop. The agreement with GLO was executed a week or two ago.”
“A similar thing happened to the Sprint excavation and removal at the Dinner Creek Basin,” he added. “It’s one of those sad facts about federal grants. You have to follow their process and everything is done in a linear fashion.”
Flexible E&R Contracts Allow Early Termination
HCFCD’s excavation and removal contracts are very flexible. They let HCFCD get a head start on construction as it worked out financing, design and other project details.
The terms of Sprint’s E&R contract let Sprint excavate up to 500,000 cubic yards of material and sell the dirt on the private market to make a profit. Sprint was meeting its 5,000 cubic-yard/month minimum. They averaged 6,000 to 7,000 cubic yards per month during the last two years.
By the end of October, the company excavated 156,478 cubic yards – about a third of the maximum. However, the additional two-thirds at the current rate would have missed the HUD deadline by at least two years.
If there’s good news here, it’s that:
Final HCFCD Recommendations Not Yet Revealed
In December 2022, engineers presented their preliminary plans to the Kingwood community and sought public input on four alternatives. Their recommended alternative included:
HCFCD has not yet revealed final construction plans to the community. But it appears that the pot is starting to boil. Stay tuned. More news will follow soon.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/26/23
2280 Days since Hurricane Harvey
40 Acres of Timber Turned into Toothpicks
In two weeks, approximately 40 acres timber has turned into toothpicks at the new Northpark South development. Clearing is now about two-thirds to three-quarters complete.
The development lies between Sorters-McClellan Road and the West Fork San Jacinto at the end of Northpark Drive. The developer, Century Land Holdings of Texas, LLC, hopes to build 236 homes, driveways, roads, and an 11.2 acre stormwater detention basin on a total of 54.4 acres.
If that sounds like a lot, Century has already applied for a variance from the City of Houston Planning Commission to create lots less than 5,000 square feet. Regardless, RG Miller Engineering still claims impervious cover will not exceed 66%. But that’s not the only curious takeaway from the RG Miller report.
No Mention of Wetlands
To achieve such density, Century will pave over wetlands. But the RG Miller report makes no mention of wetlands.
USGS has documented wetlands on this property since at least 1961, as you can see in this topographic map viewer.
However the developer apparently has not received a wetland development permit from the Army Corps.
In addition, the imagery showing the wetlands (the empty crescent-wrench-shaped area in middle right of blue outline) is misdated.
The caption in the drainage analysis says the image is from 2018. But the homes in the top left of the frame were not built until late 2020. And the image itself is from late 2021. So why would the image below be dated two years earlier.
Compare a Google Earth image taken on 2/23/2019 – before the onset of drought. When you zoom in a bit, you get a clearly different impression.
Was the RG Miller image accidentally mislabeled or an attempt to show drier conditions that didn’t scream “wetlands”? We’ll probably never know.
According to one environmental expert I consulted, developers very often have consultants who assert that there are no wetlands on property. Therefore, they feel, there’s no need to involve USACE “because a permit isn’t necessary.”
The expert said, “In my mind, they are betting on not getting caught. They can save a lot of money by avoiding permits and those savings are apparently worth the risk.”
It’s also possible that the latest Supreme Court ruling on “Waters of the U.S.,” removed federal government protection for these wetlands. In that case, these wetlands would not require permitting.
Problems Building over Wetlands
The expert continued, “Comparing this information to the plans, it looks like there will be residential streets and houses on top of the historic wetlands. I would NOT feel safe living on top of a former wetland this close to the river. NO WAY! The land has a memory, deep in its soils, and I would expect future issues.”
Current Status of Clearing
I took the photos below on the afternoon of Friday, 11/24/23.
High-Water Mark Shows Potential Danger
The image below shows where the new development sits in relation to the river and the high-water mark during Harvey.
While Harvey was an extreme storm, keep in mind that pre-Harvey flood maps show inundation potential across most of Northpark South. And the new post-Harvey flood maps, which have not yet been released, will take in even more of the new development.
Buyer beware. There’s plenty here to chew on. Toothpick anyone?
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/25/23
2279 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.
FEMA’s Swift Current Program Attempts to Speed Up Disaster Recovery Assistance
FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance Division is attempting to speed up disaster relief with its Swift Current program. The goal is to shorten the disaster/repair cycle for repetitively flooded or substantially damaged properties.
According to a FEMA press release, “Swift Current strives to better align the delivery of flood mitigation funding with the disaster survivor experience. Swift Current seeks to speed up the availability of flood mitigation funding to disaster survivors.”
Rather than rely on annual grant cycles, Swift Current makes money available immediately from a pool of $3.5 billion under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This is the second of several rounds of assistance.
The application period for this round opened on Nov. 15, 2023 and will close on Jan. 15, 2025. The funding opportunity is available on Grants.gov.
Eligibility Criteria
For Fiscal Year 2023, Swift Current Flood Mitigation Assistance will offer $300 million after flood disasters for eligible individual flood mitigation projects. Eligible projects include:
Local government agencies must apply for grants first; individuals will be considered sub-applicants and must apply through the local government agency.
You or your local government relief agency can use grants to:
Applicants will meet eligibility criteria if they have received a major disaster declaration for a flood-related disaster event between June 1, 2023 – May 31, 2024. Flood-related disaster events include coastal storms, hurricanes, remnants of hurricanes, and floods. Additionally, one of the following criteria must be met:
75% – 100% Federal Cost Share
Swift Current funds for individual flood-mitigation projects fall into several different categories:
See below. The federal match varies depending on the category.
For a higher resolution PDF, see FEMA PDF here.
Application Information
All eligible applicants must submit their FY 2023 Swift Current grant applications to FEMA via Mitigation eGrants. Upon Swift Current activation, the application deadline date will be provided to the applicant. All applications must be received by the deadline.
Local governments should consult with their state, tribal, or territorial agency to confirm deadline to submit subapplications for consideration.
For more information about the program and how to apply, visit FEMA’s Swift Current Page.
This program is sorely needed and highly welcome. I know people whose homes have not yet been repaired from Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/24/23 with thanks to Congressman Dan Crenshaw
2278 Days since Hurricane Harvey