News - Reduce Flooding

Five Exposed HVL Pipelines Go Undercover; More Wetlands Drained

Five pipelines carrying highly volatile liquids (HVL) through the utility corridor that crosses the LMI River Road sand mine in Conroe have been buried again. Repairs have almost finished. Last Friday, crews were removing construction equipment and cleaning up. This significantly reduces risk to the public from a pipeline leak, rupture or explosion.

Erosion Triggered by Mining Too Close to Utility Corridor

Erosion from the mine first exposed the pipelines in 2014. The pipelines and mine reportedly argued about the fix in court for years. But after publication in December of aerial photos showing shoddy temporary fixes and badly sagging pipelines, residents lodged numerous complaints with the TCEQ, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Texas Railroad Commission, and the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Materials Stockpiled by January

Major repairs started in January. Contractors started stockpiling culvert, riprap, sand and other construction materials onsite.

Start of repairs. Photo taken January 20, 2020.

Construction Half Done in Mid-February

Construction was well underway a month later in February.

Cleanup Begins Early March

Last Friday, it was all over but the cleanup. Of course, cleanup in a sandmen is a relative term.

*Looking north at utility corridor and pipeline repairs from over the mine’s main pit.* *This photo and those below taken on March 6, 2020.*

*Looking south toward main pit and river. Water flows from behind the camera position into these inlet pipes.* *Note the concrete overflow spillway to reduce future erosion.*

*A ditch not channels water to the new culverts. It also intercepts water flowing south toward the river (upper left).*

*Where the ditch turns toward the culvert, it appears to be 10 to 15 feet deep.*

*Reverse shot. Looking NE. Unfortunately, mining and erosion seem to have drained the wetlands.*

Clogged Culvert a Future Risk

*A big issue in the future may be sediment clogging the culverts.*

Looking at all the sediment spewing from the culverts, one has to worry a bit about those culverts becoming clogged with sand and silt. No shortage of that around here!

Sadly, the wetlands lost since this episode started might have prevented some of that erosion.

Thanks to everyone who wrote regulatory agencies and complained about this situation. It helped produce a quick, happy resolution. Let’s chalk one up in the win column.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/11/2020

925 Days after Hurricane Harvey

Army Corps Finds Wetlands on Perry Homes Woodridge Village Property Did Not Fall Under Corps’ Jurisdiction; What Next?

Today, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released the findings of its investigation into the wetlands on Perry Homes’ Woodridge Village property. The Corps said that the wetlands do NOT fall under its jurisdiction. Therefore, there was no violation of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act when Perry wiped out wetlands without first seeking the Corps’ permission.

Congressman Dan Crenshaw’s office released this text of an email the Corps sent to them today.

Text of Corps Email to Congressman Crenshaw

“This e-mail is in response to your request (on the behalf of Congressman Crenshaw) to be updated on our investigation into activities on the Figure Four properties located in Porter, Montgomery County, Texas. (Investigation file SWG-2019-00745).” [Editor’s note: Figure Four is the development arm of Perry Homes.]

“As discussed on the phone earlier today, the Corps of Engineers has finalized our investigation into this matter and did NOT find a violation of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (Section 404).”

“We did confirm the presence of uplands and wetlands on the tract. Some of the wetlands had fill material placed into them. Based on the facts associated with this specific location and per federal regulation these wetlands were determined to “isolated.” They lacked any known nexus to interstate commerce. As such, they are not “waters of the United States” and are not subject to federal jurisdiction under Section 404. In accordance with federal regulation the jurisdictional status (determination) of these wetlands was coordinated with the Environmental Protection Agency prior to finalizing.”

“The property owner has been notified of the federal government’s findings and the investigation closed.”

Wetlands Question Now Moot from Legal Point of View

Normally, in cases where a question exists, developers consult the Corps before destroying the wetlands. When I asked the Corps last August whether Perry had sought a “jurisdictional determination,” the Corps answered that Perry had not.

Perry later claimed that it had hired a private consultant to determine whether the wetlands were jurisdictional. However, to my knowledge, Perry never publicly released the results of the survey. Today’s ruling by the Corps makes that whole controversy moot.

Regardless of the Corps’ rulings on the jurisdictional question, the fact remains that the Corps found wetlands on the property and they found Perry Homes had attempted to fill them in.

Wetlands Question Still Explosive from Business Point of View

Let’s see how well that worked out for Perry and its subsidiaries.

More than 400 people are suing them.
Damages could easily exceed $100 million.
The parts of Perry’s property that were wetlands refuse to dry out.
The land may be unsuitable for building.
The land has become a toxic asset that will scare potential buyers.

If Perry Homes tries to build on the land after all the publicity surrounding this case, any homeowner whose foundation cracks would have a ready-made court case.

*Woodridge Village “wetlands” on March 6, 2020. Water has ponded there for months.*

This land appears to be unsafe, unstable, unbuildable, unsaleable, and a menace to downstream homeowners in its current state.

Plaintiff’s Engineer Points to High Hurdles for Perry to Clear

David Givler, PE, a consultant for plaintiffs in the Elm Grove flooding case found that LJA Engineering, a Perry Homes’ contractor:

Seriously underestimated the amount of runoff from this property.
Used outdated rainfall statistics that led to underestimating the amount of detention capacity needed.
Constructed the overflow spillway between Taylor Gulley and detention pond S2 at a height that would cause North Kingwood Forest to flood.

When You’re In a Hole, Stop Digging. Literally.

It may be possible to fix some of these problems. But at what cost? Will the development ultimately be economic when residential lots are used to increase the size of detention ponds?

Five developers previously bought this land, studied it, and sold it rather than develop it. Maybe Perry should do the same. Maybe they should transfer it to Harris County Flood Control to create a giant detention facility.

How Perry Could Exit Without a Loss, Mitigate Flooding, Limit Long-Term Liability

A Houston Chronicle article quotes Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin as saying that Perry quoted a price for the land that covered their acquisition cost PLUS the labor they have into it. That led Harris County to ask CoH to share the cost.

When CoH refused, Perry dropped the price to $14 million (the alleged purchase price) from $23 million, according to Community Impact newspaper. The Montgomery County Appraisal District values the land at only a little more than $1 million.

It will be very hard for Perry to sell the land and even harder to develop it. So why doesn’t Perry just donate the land to Harris County Flood Control to help them mitigate flooding?

According to a national real estate tax expert that I talked to, Perry could then write off the value of the land PLUS the value of the labor they have in it. For a billion dollar company, the tax deduction could easily EQUAL or come close to the price they are currently asking for the land.

It would also:

Give Perry a chance to recoup some shred of its once proud image.
Let Harris County Flood Control move forward quickly with a detention project that could truly mitigate flooding.
Help protect Perry from additional future flooding claims.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/10/2020

924 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 173 since Imelda

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.

Conveyance of Lower Ben’s Branch Nearly Restored

A flyover of the lower portion of Ben’s Branch on March 6, 2020, revealed that Harris County Flood Control has nearly restored its conveyance, even if some sediment still needs to be hauled off.

*With most of lower Ben’s Branch cleaned out,* the *Kingwood Library (left), Kingwood Greens (right), and The Enclave (background) can now breathe much easier.*

Among Hardest Hit Areas During Harvey

During Hurricane Harvey, some of the hardest hit areas in Kingwood bordered Ben’s Branch. Ben’s Branch cuts diagonally through Kingwood from St. Martha Catholic Church on the north to Town Center, Kingwood Greens, The Enclave, Kingwood Village Estates and Kings Harbor on the south. Post-Harvey surveys showed significant sediment buildup along the creek which reduced conveyance.

Twelve seniors in Kingwood Village Estates died after Harvey as a result of injuries sustained during the storm or the stress of losing their homes.

In August of last year, Harris County Flood Control began cleaning out the creek.

*The project scoped by HCFCD is to remove approximately 80,000 cubic yards of sediment between the red line at Kingwood Drive and the YMCA at the bottom right of the circle.*

Flood Control estimated they would need to remove 75,000 to 80,000 cubic yards to restore the conveyance. Despite a setback called Tropical Storm Imelda, the project has been moving along nicely.