Harris County has put 37 of 93 subdivision drainage projects associated with the $2.5 billion 2018 Flood Bond on hold.
Reasons include:
Lack of funding
Inflation
Shortfalls in expected partner contributions
Constructibility of some projects
Social-vulnerability scores within the County’s Equity Prioritization Framework.
Of the 37 projects whose funding was cut, 24 were in Precinct 3 – a whopping 65 percent.
Technically, the projects have not been “cancelled.” The county has just run out of money to do them. But it has set no deadline for revisiting the projects on hold; is diverting HCTRA backstop funding for other uses; has articulated no other plan for raising additional funds; and is submitting projects for HUD funding that weren’t in the flood bond.
Commissioners court cut funding for projects in all three tables.
Impact of SVI Threshold on Disproportionate Budget Cuts
The deciding factor in many cases was the area’s social vulnerability index (SVI), which measures English language fluency plus minority and ethnic concentrations.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Ramsey argued to lower the SVI requirement for these projects to 50%. That would have met HUD requirements and also meant fewer budget cuts for Precinct 3.
But his Democratic colleagues proceeded to set the threshold at 75%, resulting in the lopsided cuts. The chart below shows how dramatically that affected Equity Prioritization Index rankings in the tables above.
But according to this motion, they will be paused, put on hold, and have their funding cut.
Harris County Engineering, Flood Control, Daniel Ramos from the Office of Management and Budget and the Harris County Toll Road Authority all recommended the funding cuts on 2/21/23.
Their rationale: It will provide funding certainty for the highest ranked projects using the Equity Prioritization Index and free up the Toll Road Funds for other uses. The toll road funds were backstopping bond funds.
Unfortunately, six years after Harvey, no large pots of money remain out there dedicated to the storm. Ramsey has his work cut out for him against 4-1 odds.
Is Race-Based Funding Even Constitutional?
To justify the unequal cuts, the other three commissioners and county judge relied on complicated race-based formulas that favor minorities. Then they justified the funding cuts with the usual misleading “worst first” mantra when they aren’t even measuring actual flood damage.
The recent Supreme Court Ruling on Affirmative Action calls into question whether race-based funding is even constitutional.
I’m eager to hear from lawyers on the constitutionality of distributing billions of dollars on the basis of racial discriminators, such as SVI.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/11/23
2142 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/2023/07/Screenshot-2023-07-11-at-4.11.55-PM.png?fit=988%2C1558&ssl=11558988adminadmin2023-07-11 20:09:502023-07-12 09:43:2665% of Harris County Flood-Bond Projects that Lost Funding Are in Precinct 3
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has clouded the future of dozens of Texas flood-mitigation projects worth billions of dollars.
HUD has alleged racial discrimination by the Texas General Land Office (GLO), which distributes HUD money in Texas. HUD based its finding of discrimination on complaints by two advocacy groups. The complaints stem from a statewide competition – the firstof several rounds of HUD awards relating to Hurricane Harvey.
Now, deadlines for actually spending the money are fast approaching. But the uncertainty created by the racial discrimination allegations is causing entities that won HUD grants to question whether HUD will revoke funding and leave half-completed projects in limbo.
The GLO vehemently denies all allegations of discrimination and points out that:
HUD imposed the key rule governing competition for grants now in dispute
HUD approved the competition’s scoring criteria
More than two thirds of the beneficiaries of the funds are Black and Hispanic
100% of the mitigation projects benefitted communities with a majority of low-to-moderate income (LMI) residents, when only 50% was required
GLO and HUD ultimately awarded Houston-area entities about $1.5 billion.
Allegations by Texas Housers and Northeast Action Collective
According to the Houston Chronicle, two advocacy groups (Texas Housers and the Northeast Action Collective) filed charges of racial discrimination after the first round of Harvey grant awards in 2021. They allege that the Houston area got zero dollars and are standing by their accusations, despite all the money the area received at the time and since then. (See amounts in timeline below.)
When developing the competition for Harvey grants, HUD insisted that the GLO could not base awards on actual flood damage. Regardless, Texas Housers and the Northeast Action Collective complained that rural areas received the majority of funding even though Houston and Harris County had the majority of flood damage.
After results of the competition became apparent, GLO attempted to remedy the rural/urban disparity by recommending to HUD that $750 million in remaining Harvey competition funds should go to Harris County – without a second competition. HUD approved.
GLO also recommended increasing the amount going to the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) from the Regional Mitigation Program. H-GAC’s allocation more than doubled from $209 million to $488 million – again without a second competition. And again, HUD approved.
Regardless, HUD’s “finding” of discrimination based on allegations by the two advocacy groups still stands. Moreover, HUD issued administrative subpoenas to depose GLO executives, even though the Department of Justice (DOJ) already reviewed the racial discrimination complaints and declined to pursue them.
This mess is like throwing trip wires in front of exhausted marathon contestants.
While GLO defended its actions with more than 1,000 pages of documentation, HUD has reportedly produced only a four-page letter laying out vague generalizations.
HUD has not responded to requests from the GLO or ReduceFlooding.com for specifics regarding the allegations.
Uncertainty, Fear of Clawbacks Slow Progress
After spending years and millions of dollars to win HUD grants, the award winners now face the specter of not having enough money to finish their projects should Texas Housers and the Northeast Action Collective succeed.
Imagine your bank rescinding a mortgage commitment after you bought a lot and began building a new home.
Worse, HUD could try to claw back the money that grantees have already spent. According to GLO, many of the smaller communities awarded grants don’t have the funds to pay back HUD should that happen.
Faced with that kind of uncertainty, some awardees are reluctant to start construction on their projects – even though they face two looming “use it or lose it” deadlines. The first is only three years away – barely enough time to complete many projects.
As a result, the GLO issued a scathing press release last week, accusing HUD of “destabilizing vital funding.”
Timeline: Who Got What, When?
Is all that chaos necessary? Not if you look at the final score as opposed to the first inning. Houston and Harris County received far more than “zero dollars.” See below.
On February 9, 2018, Congress approves mitigation funds for 2015 and 2016 floods as well as Harvey-eligible areas. Two months later, HUD allocated money to Texas.
2019: Federal Register Notice
On August 30, 2019, HUD finally published the Federal Register notice enabling the State of Texas to proceed in drafting an action plan for the CDBG-MIT funds. GLO then conducted a public outreach campaign and collected thousands of comments from 117 meetings and 936 individuals.
2020: HUD Approves Action Plan
HUD finally approved the GLO action plan which called for conducting a statewide competition for funding. The scoring criterion included in the state action plan for distribution of the funds was approved by HUD on March 27, 2020.
$502.5 million for 2018 Flood Control Bond Projects
$100 million for Partnership Projects, i.e., with City of Houston
$50 million for Other County Flood Mitigation Projects.
June 6, 2023: Third Award
GLO recently reallocated $322.5 million in unspent disaster relief funds from Harvey to Harris County Flood Control for mitigation projects. This is in addition to $222,519,672 Harris County received in infrastructure funding from the initial CDBG-DR allocation.
Still, the Chronicle article alleges that the GLO somehow ran afoul of of the Civil Rights Act and Fair Housing laws by giving the Houston area “zero.”
The DOJ took less than 48 hours to review and dismiss the claim. But the continued legal harassment by HUD is distracting the GLO from its vital mission as deadlines loom.
Could this be politically inspired? Two Houston-based politicians running for election next year have close ties to the groups making the claims. More on that in a future post.
Baseless Racial Discrimination Accusations Have Backfired
Despite the vast majority of Harris County flood-control spending since 2000 already going to LMI areas, the baseless charges of racial discrimination seem to have backfired on Texas Housers and Northeast Action Collective.
In one notable instance, the Northeast Action Collective brought more than a hundred members to a Commissioners Court meeting. They pushed the meeting into the wee hours of the next day, repeatedly demanding the resignations of key Harris County Flood Control executives. Since their resignations in 2021 and January 2022, flood control spending has steadily declined – exposing the constituents that the groups represent to more flood risk.
Data obtained from HCFCD via FOIA request. Covers 1/1/2000 through 3/31/2023.
And the effects are across Harris County. For instance, in the first quarter of this year compared to the fourth quarter of last year, spending was down in two thirds of the county’s 23 watersheds.
Data obtained from HCFCD via FOIA Request.Only significant increase was in Greens Bayou watershed.
The HUD/Houser/Collective accusations could produce a similar outcome across Texas – backfiring again.
HUD refuses to discuss its allegations of racial discrimination. HUD did not respond to a ReduceFlooding request for an interview, nor would it meet with GLO Commissioner Dawn Buckingham MD.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/8/23
2139 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/2023/07/20211217-DJI_0079.jpg?fit=1100%2C733&ssl=17331100adminadmin2023-07-08 20:10:092023-07-09 19:09:54HUD Clouds Future of Flood-Mitigation Funding in Texas
NOAA’s National Hurricane Center issues a monthly Atlantic Tropical Weather Summary during hurricane season. For June 2023, it shows above normal tropical cyclone activity and and above normal accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) for the North Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
#4 for Year and Counting
Three named tropical storms (Arlene, Bret, and Cindy) formed in the basin during June. The report also shows an unnamed storm in January, that in retrospect appears to have been tropical in strength.
Bret brought tropical-storm-force winds to portions of the Lesser Antilles, while Arlene and Cindy remained over open water and did not impact land.
So far, seasonal activity has been above average based on the 30-year climatology (1991-2020), where a named storm typically forms about once every year in June.
Timing of hurricanes in the last hundred years shows peak at September 10.
In terms of Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE), which measures the strength and duration of tropical storms and hurricanes, activity in the basin so far in 2023 has also been above average compared to the long-term (1991-2020) mean.
* An unnamed subtropical storm formed in mid January. Exact dates and maximum winds will be provided once the post-storm analysis is complete.
As of this writing on 7/5/23, NHC predicts NO tropical storm activity anywhere in the Atlantic basin for the next seven days.
Predictions Vs. Actual
In May, both NHC and Colorado State University predicted that this tropical storm season would have about normal hurricane activity. Both sources cited conflicting trends as the basis for their predictions. We currently have above-normal sea-surface temperatures throughout most of the Atlantic basin. We also are now under the influence of an El Niño, which tends, in this latitude, to produce wind shear that discourages cyclone formation.
To improve predictions, NOAA has made a number of changes in reporting at the National Hurricane Center. They include new, improved models for hurricane forecasts and storm surge, longer-range hurricane outlooks, an excessive rainfall outlook, inundation mapping down to the street level, and improved data-collection technologies.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/5/2023
2136 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/peakofseason.gif?fit=831%2C546&ssl=1546831adminadmin2023-07-05 10:32:132023-07-05 10:32:14Hurricane Season Above Average So Far
65% of Harris County Flood-Bond Projects that Lost Funding Are in Precinct 3
Harris County has put 37 of 93 subdivision drainage projects associated with the $2.5 billion 2018 Flood Bond on hold.
Reasons include:
Technically, the projects have not been “cancelled.” The county has just run out of money to do them. But it has set no deadline for revisiting the projects on hold; is diverting HCTRA backstop funding for other uses; has articulated no other plan for raising additional funds; and is submitting projects for HUD funding that weren’t in the flood bond.
Here’s the explanation for the motion approved by Commissioner’s court on 2/21/23.
Did Your Project Get the Funding Ax?
The following three tables show the projects put on hold. (Note: six are duplicated between tables 2 and 3.)
Commissioners court cut funding for projects in all three tables.
Impact of SVI Threshold on Disproportionate Budget Cuts
The deciding factor in many cases was the area’s social vulnerability index (SVI), which measures English language fluency plus minority and ethnic concentrations.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Ramsey argued to lower the SVI requirement for these projects to 50%. That would have met HUD requirements and also meant fewer budget cuts for Precinct 3.
But his Democratic colleagues proceeded to set the threshold at 75%, resulting in the lopsided cuts. The chart below shows how dramatically that affected Equity Prioritization Index rankings in the tables above.
Ramsey Looking for Other Sources of Funding
Ramsey has been beating the bushes to find more money. Recently he got a commitment from Texas General Land Office Commissioner Dawn Buckingham to ensure $825 million in HUD funds going to Harris County Flood Control would be distributed equally among all precincts.
That should help fund several Precinct 3 projects and perhaps free up money for some of the subdivision drainage projects put on hold.
Drowning in the Semantic Wilderness
Ironically, even as others throw roadblocks in the way of Precinct 3 projects, HCFCD insists no projects will be cancelled.
But according to this motion, they will be paused, put on hold, and have their funding cut.
Harris County Engineering, Flood Control, Daniel Ramos from the Office of Management and Budget and the Harris County Toll Road Authority all recommended the funding cuts on 2/21/23.
Their rationale: It will provide funding certainty for the highest ranked projects using the Equity Prioritization Index and free up the Toll Road Funds for other uses. The toll road funds were backstopping bond funds.
The county made these recommendations even as it was planning to spend HUD dollars on projects NOT in the flood bond.
Unfortunately, six years after Harvey, no large pots of money remain out there dedicated to the storm. Ramsey has his work cut out for him against 4-1 odds.
Is Race-Based Funding Even Constitutional?
To justify the unequal cuts, the other three commissioners and county judge relied on complicated race-based formulas that favor minorities. Then they justified the funding cuts with the usual misleading “worst first” mantra when they aren’t even measuring actual flood damage.
The recent Supreme Court Ruling on Affirmative Action calls into question whether race-based funding is even constitutional.
I’m eager to hear from lawyers on the constitutionality of distributing billions of dollars on the basis of racial discriminators, such as SVI.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/11/23
2142 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.
HUD Clouds Future of Flood-Mitigation Funding in Texas
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has clouded the future of dozens of Texas flood-mitigation projects worth billions of dollars.
HUD has alleged racial discrimination by the Texas General Land Office (GLO), which distributes HUD money in Texas. HUD based its finding of discrimination on complaints by two advocacy groups. The complaints stem from a statewide competition – the first of several rounds of HUD awards relating to Hurricane Harvey.
Now, deadlines for actually spending the money are fast approaching. But the uncertainty created by the racial discrimination allegations is causing entities that won HUD grants to question whether HUD will revoke funding and leave half-completed projects in limbo.
The GLO vehemently denies all allegations of discrimination and points out that:
Allegations by Texas Housers and Northeast Action Collective
According to the Houston Chronicle, two advocacy groups (Texas Housers and the Northeast Action Collective) filed charges of racial discrimination after the first round of Harvey grant awards in 2021. They allege that the Houston area got zero dollars and are standing by their accusations, despite all the money the area received at the time and since then. (See amounts in timeline below.)
When developing the competition for Harvey grants, HUD insisted that the GLO could not base awards on actual flood damage. Regardless, Texas Housers and the Northeast Action Collective complained that rural areas received the majority of funding even though Houston and Harris County had the majority of flood damage.
After results of the competition became apparent, GLO attempted to remedy the rural/urban disparity by recommending to HUD that $750 million in remaining Harvey competition funds should go to Harris County – without a second competition. HUD approved.
GLO also recommended increasing the amount going to the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) from the Regional Mitigation Program. H-GAC’s allocation more than doubled from $209 million to $488 million – again without a second competition. And again, HUD approved.
Regardless, HUD’s “finding” of discrimination based on allegations by the two advocacy groups still stands. Moreover, HUD issued administrative subpoenas to depose GLO executives, even though the Department of Justice (DOJ) already reviewed the racial discrimination complaints and declined to pursue them.
This mess is like throwing trip wires in front of exhausted marathon contestants.
While GLO defended its actions with more than 1,000 pages of documentation, HUD has reportedly produced only a four-page letter laying out vague generalizations.
HUD has not responded to requests from the GLO or ReduceFlooding.com for specifics regarding the allegations.
Uncertainty, Fear of Clawbacks Slow Progress
After spending years and millions of dollars to win HUD grants, the award winners now face the specter of not having enough money to finish their projects should Texas Housers and the Northeast Action Collective succeed.
Imagine your bank rescinding a mortgage commitment after you bought a lot and began building a new home.
Worse, HUD could try to claw back the money that grantees have already spent. According to GLO, many of the smaller communities awarded grants don’t have the funds to pay back HUD should that happen.
Faced with that kind of uncertainty, some awardees are reluctant to start construction on their projects – even though they face two looming “use it or lose it” deadlines. The first is only three years away – barely enough time to complete many projects.
As a result, the GLO issued a scathing press release last week, accusing HUD of “destabilizing vital funding.”
Timeline: Who Got What, When?
Is all that chaos necessary? Not if you look at the final score as opposed to the first inning. Houston and Harris County received far more than “zero dollars.” See below.
2017: Harvey
Hurricane Harvey strikes Texas. Presidential disaster declaration.
2018: Congressional Action
On February 9, 2018, Congress approves mitigation funds for 2015 and 2016 floods as well as Harvey-eligible areas. Two months later, HUD allocated money to Texas.
2019: Federal Register Notice
On August 30, 2019, HUD finally published the Federal Register notice enabling the State of Texas to proceed in drafting an action plan for the CDBG-MIT funds. GLO then conducted a public outreach campaign and collected thousands of comments from 117 meetings and 936 individuals.
2020: HUD Approves Action Plan
HUD finally approved the GLO action plan which called for conducting a statewide competition for funding. The scoring criterion included in the state action plan for distribution of the funds was approved by HUD on March 27, 2020.
May 21, 2021: First Awards
The first $1.1 billion was awarded in the statewide competition:
May 26, 2021: Second Awards
A mere five days later, GLO requested a direct allocation of $1.2 billion without a competition for Harris County and H-GAC. That included:
March 18, 2022
HUD approves GLO request for second batch of awards. From its $750 million, Harris County will spend:
June 6, 2023: Third Award
GLO recently reallocated $322.5 million in unspent disaster relief funds from Harvey to Harris County Flood Control for mitigation projects. This is in addition to $222,519,672 Harris County received in infrastructure funding from the initial CDBG-DR allocation.
Still, the Chronicle article alleges that the GLO somehow ran afoul of of the Civil Rights Act and Fair Housing laws by giving the Houston area “zero.”
The DOJ took less than 48 hours to review and dismiss the claim. But the continued legal harassment by HUD is distracting the GLO from its vital mission as deadlines loom.
Could this be politically inspired? Two Houston-based politicians running for election next year have close ties to the groups making the claims. More on that in a future post.
Baseless Racial Discrimination Accusations Have Backfired
Despite the vast majority of Harris County flood-control spending since 2000 already going to LMI areas, the baseless charges of racial discrimination seem to have backfired on Texas Housers and Northeast Action Collective.
In one notable instance, the Northeast Action Collective brought more than a hundred members to a Commissioners Court meeting. They pushed the meeting into the wee hours of the next day, repeatedly demanding the resignations of key Harris County Flood Control executives. Since their resignations in 2021 and January 2022, flood control spending has steadily declined – exposing the constituents that the groups represent to more flood risk.
And the effects are across Harris County. For instance, in the first quarter of this year compared to the fourth quarter of last year, spending was down in two thirds of the county’s 23 watersheds.
The HUD/Houser/Collective accusations could produce a similar outcome across Texas – backfiring again.
HUD refuses to discuss its allegations of racial discrimination. HUD did not respond to a ReduceFlooding request for an interview, nor would it meet with GLO Commissioner Dawn Buckingham MD.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/8/23
2139 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.
Hurricane Season Above Average So Far
NOAA’s National Hurricane Center issues a monthly Atlantic Tropical Weather Summary during hurricane season. For June 2023, it shows above normal tropical cyclone activity and and above normal accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) for the North Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
#4 for Year and Counting
Three named tropical storms (Arlene, Bret, and Cindy) formed in the basin during June. The report also shows an unnamed storm in January, that in retrospect appears to have been tropical in strength.
Bret brought tropical-storm-force winds to portions of the Lesser Antilles, while Arlene and Cindy remained over open water and did not impact land.
So far, seasonal activity has been above average based on the 30-year climatology (1991-2020), where a named storm typically forms about once every year in June.
In terms of Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE), which measures the strength and duration of tropical storms and hurricanes, activity in the basin so far in 2023 has also been above average compared to the long-term (1991-2020) mean.
Reports on individual cyclones, when completed, are available at the National Hurricane Center website.
Summary Table
Name Dates Max Wind (mph)
———————————————————–
Unnamed STS*
TS Arlene 1-3 Jun 40
TS Bret 19-24 Jun 70
TS Cindy 22-26 Jun 60
———————————————————–
* An unnamed subtropical storm formed in mid January. Exact dates and maximum winds will be provided once the post-storm analysis is complete.
As of this writing on 7/5/23, NHC predicts NO tropical storm activity anywhere in the Atlantic basin for the next seven days.
Predictions Vs. Actual
In May, both NHC and Colorado State University predicted that this tropical storm season would have about normal hurricane activity. Both sources cited conflicting trends as the basis for their predictions. We currently have above-normal sea-surface temperatures throughout most of the Atlantic basin. We also are now under the influence of an El Niño, which tends, in this latitude, to produce wind shear that discourages cyclone formation.
To improve predictions, NOAA has made a number of changes in reporting at the National Hurricane Center. They include new, improved models for hurricane forecasts and storm surge, longer-range hurricane outlooks, an excessive rainfall outlook, inundation mapping down to the street level, and improved data-collection technologies.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/5/2023
2136 Days since Hurricane Harvey