11/21/25 – The Federal Government is again changing the rules that protect wetlands. The changes could reduce the volume of wetlands that enjoy federal protection by altering the definition of “Waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act to align with Supreme Court rulings.
The Government has opened public comment on the proposed language for 45 days – until January 5, 2026. Wetlands above dams and wetlands without continuous surface flow could be radically affected.
Reason for Changes
The proposed changes include clarification of many definitions that previously caused confusion and controversy because of their ambiguity.
Every day, regulators must draw black-and-white distinctions in a world characterized by infinite shades of gray. For instance, does a “continuous surface connection” to “waters of the U.S.” include wetlands going through a drought? Wetlands separated from a river by a dike? Wetlands that are only wet during the rainy season? Or wetlands upstream from a water-supply dam like Lake Houston or Lake Conroe?
The 49-page entry in the Federal Register notice states that the proposed definitions/changes seek to avoid “impairing or in any manner affecting any right or jurisdiction of the States with respect to waters (including boundary waters) of such States.” See 33 U.S.C. 1370.
Said another way, Federal Government seems to be turfing the task of interpreting some gray areas back to local jurisdictions. The notice says, “States and Tribes are free to address rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, and other features that do not meet the definition of “relatively permanent” as “waters of the State” or “waters of the Tribe” under their own laws to the extent they deem appropriate.
However, Texas largely relies on federal wetland protection. The state’s role is limited to certification, advisory review, and coastal management. I’m not aware of any comprehensive Texas law that independently protects inland wetlands from filling or drainage.
The Federal Register describes the changes and how they could affect different interest groups, situations and locations. I couldn’t possibly summarize them all in one page. But I will address one.
Wetlands Threatened in Lake Houston Area
Right now in the Lake Houston Area, we are looking at several major proposed developments that want to build over wetlands.
Crossing at the Commons of Lake Houston. See wetlands in center.
And farther downstream on the East Fork, Ron Holley wants to build over wetlands both north and south of Royal Shores. Note the green areas east of High Valley and Royal Shores Drive in the wetlands map below.
All the areas above are upstream from the Lake Houston dam. Make sure you note the following sentence under the proposed “Definition of Tributary.”
“Such waters [above a dam] would not sever upstream jurisdiction for tributaries if they have relatively permanent flow, or in the case of adjacent wetlands, if relatively permanent flow occurs through the wetlands, connecting the upstream and downstream portions of the tributary network.”
That says to me:
Wetlands above dams and without permanent flow would no longer be considered jurisdictional and therefore no longer enjoy the Corps’ protection.
Bob Rehak Interpretation
In my reading, this removes any incentive for developers to protect nature’s sponges and it increases flood risk for others who may live nearby or downstream.
What’s your interpretation? How do you feel? The EPA and Army Corps are seeking your input on such language. Such obscure definitions/interpretations could affect your family’s future safety and the value of your home.
Jill Boullion, Executive Director of the Bayou Land Conservancy had this to say. “Narrowing the definition of ‘Waters of the US (WOTUS)’ will not serve the Houston region well. Our region has already lost thousands of acres of wetlands over recent decades.”
She continued, “Wetlands protect our homes from flooding, clean our drinking water, and provide vital habitat for native plants and animals. Requiring a continuous surface connection to navigable water would immediately open many wetlands to being paved over. Due to the dry weather this year, many wetlands are currently dry but still serve an important purpose for a healthy community.”
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/2025/11/Scarborough-Wetlands.png?fit=1100%2C661&ssl=16611100adminadmin2025-11-21 16:40:282025-11-22 16:33:40Federal Government Changing Rules that Protect Wetlands
11/20/25 – Maria Acevedo, a construction expert and environmental activist, observed a Colony Ridge cement contractor, Liberty Paving, operating without a permit. She also documented sediment runoff from the site that violated Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Best Management Practices (BMPs).
The lack of BMPs was polluting the surrounding area, which drains into the San Jacinto East Fork and has required tens of millions of dollars in dredging since the development of Colony Ridge began.
Acevedo reported the alleged violations to the TCEQ, which conducted its own investigation and issued a Notice of Enforcement.
Liberty Paving LLC, the contractor, has done more than $13 million worth of business for Liberty County Municipal Management District #1. Amazingly, the President of MMD #1 owns the paving contractor.
This letter from Attorney General Ken Paxton to members of Congress details a litany of other abuses and ethically ambiguous practices at Colony Ridge in Liberty County. Loopholes in Texas law big enough to drive cement trucks through enable them.
TCEQ Finds No Site Signage or Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan
When TCEQ investigated Acevedo’s complaint, it was not raining, so investigators could not confirm the allegations of runoff that Acevedo’s photos showed. However, TCEQ discovered that Liberty Paving was operating without coverage under the Construction General Permit, required site signage, and a mandatory Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). Neither was the company employing best management practices.
As a result, TCEQ issued a Notice of Enforcement Letter. TCEQ’s report says that Liberty Paving knew of its responsibilities because of permits issued at other sites outside Colony Ridge, but failed to comply inside Colony Ridge.
What exactly does TCEQ mean when it issues a notice of enforcement for “failure to obtain coverage under the Construction General Permit”? According to ChatGPT, the permit regulates:
Stormwater runoff from construction activities
Erosion controls
Sediment controls
Pollution prevention practices
Because the site began construction without filing the required notice of intent:
Any stormwater discharges were unauthorized
Discharged pollutants, such as sediment, were illegal.
The operator is out of compliance with the Clean Water Act and Texas Pollution Discharge Elimination System rules
Even if erosion controls were physically present, failure to obtain the permit still constitutes a violation.
Sediment escaping through improperly installed silt fence. Photo by Maria Acevedo.
Conflict of Interest?
John Harris, the Colony Ridge developer, lists himself as the president of T-Rex Management, Inc., the general partner of Liberty Paving, LLC. But Harris is also the current president of Liberty County MMD #1.
Minutes of MMD #1 show that in 2023, Harris’ brother was president of the MMD when it approved $13 million in payments to Liberty Paving.
In most states this would be a clear conflict of interest. But Texas allows it if the parties recuse themselves from voting on the contract/payment and disclose their conflicts of interest.
Mr. Harris was evidently present for one vote on paving payments, but absent for another. The minutes do not reflect whether he disclosed the conflict of interest.
That’s pretty academic, however, when four MMD board members have ties to the developer or Harris’ family.
One former state legislator who is an expert on MMDs told me that even if a board member recuses himself, other members of the board know how to vote through winks and nods, i.e., things that don’t get recorded in minutes. He raised some interesting questions. Are bids sealed? Are bids opened in public with all bidders present? And should the vote to accept a bid count if the board member who refrains from voting is necessary to make a quorum?
According to ChatGPT, Texas stands out nationally due to MMDs being allowed to:
Reimburse developers via taxpayer-backed bonds
Have developer-controlled boards
Contract with developer-owned companies
Reimburse developers for on-site infrastructure, including:
Roads
Water/sewer
Drainage
Detention ponds
Grading & clearing
Engineering costs
Most states allow reimbursement only for:
True regional infrastructure, or
Public facilities beyond subdivision boundaries.
Nor do other states allow developers to:
Form districts they control
Levy taxes on future residents
Reimburse themselves for subdivision improvements.
However, it’s standard practice in Texas for:
A developer to form a MMD or Municipal Utility District
The developer (or allied consultants) to serve on the board
The board to hire the developer’s own companies for construction, engineering, landscaping, or management
Taxpayers or landowners to repay the MMD or MUD through bonds or assessments.
Such practices are widely criticized as ethical conflicts of interest, even if they are not legal conflicts. They enable self-dealing and private gain from public-like financing powers. Yet it’s all technically legal if conflicts are disclosed and abstentions handled properly.
“The scandal isn’t what is illegal. The scandal is what is legal.”
Matthew Poston, Liberty County Attorney
Colony Ridge Expansion in 2022.
Paxton Writes Scathing Colony Ridge Letter to Legislators
In Texas, the Attorney General does not normally police MMD self-dealing. However, two years ago, when illegal immigrant and consumer fraud scandals rocked Colony Ridge creating national headlines, Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote a scathing letter to members of Congress about his offices’ findings.
Among other things, Paxton’s four-page letter details how:
Colony Ridge practices seem to contradict the intent of Texas lawmakers when they established MMDs
Minimal down-payment, high-interest loans with little identity verification lure non-citizens across the border
Fast growth and high crime create burdens on law enforcement, school districts, and neighboring areas
MMD #1 violates the intent of lawmakers
How MMD #1 bypasses bank scrutiny of its high risk activities contrary to the public interest
Unelected, unaccountable leaders are creating unsustainable growth of a “city” by catering to illegal aliens
How Colony Ridge is swamping taxpayers in the Cleveland ISD which caused it to more than triple in size
The people of Texas “never assented to the creation of a sprawling unincorporated, ungoverned zone.”
And Paxton didn’t even address Colony Ridge flooding!
For everyone who wants to own an Island Home. New Year’s Day of 2021.
For More On Colony Ridge
Consult this post – History of Heartbreak: A Colony Ridge Chronicle. It contains links to more than 75 previous posts with hundreds of photos taken on the ground and in the air. Scanning through them will make you wonder whether Paxton was too kind!
A development that didn’t exist 15 years ago is now 50% bigger than Manhattan … with hardly any flood control, fire hydrants, or police presence.
11/17/25 – Contractors for the Northpark Drive expansion project have officially begun mobilizing to build the bridge that will go over the UnionPacific Railroad (UPRR) Tracks and Loop 494. This morning, I received notice that a piece of equipment called a “Kelly Bar” arrived at the job site. It will be used to drill 100-foot deep piers for the bridge.
ChatGPT says, “A telescopic Kelly bar is made of nested, hollow, steel tubes of successively smaller diameter which slide within one another, allowing the overall length to extend or retract depending on drilling depth.”
Think of an extension pole that can reach the extreme depths needed to support a bridge that will carry heavy loads.
Kelly bar being hoisted off transport truckwill be used for hydro-excavation.
At the monthly meeting of the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ 10 on 11/13/2025, Project Manager Ralph De Leon described next steps on the project.
Bridge Construction Will Likely Start on West Side of Loop 494
Contractors will likely start building the bridge on the west side of Loop 494 and work their way east. That’s because UPRR needs to move an electrical line that powers their railroad traffic signals. The line will move to a new pole just north (left) of the junction box shown below. The old pole is in the way of new surface turn lanes that will carry westbound traffic.
Before traffic can be rerouted to new surface lanes that will be built on the left, electricity for the RR signals must move from the old vine-covered pole to another one out of frame on the left.
Note how traffic swerves right in the photo above. Until that pole moves, traffic must use the old surface lanes, which are in the bridge’s path.
Said De Leon, “So, we cannot build our feeder roads. The goal was to put everybody on the outside lanes to create an opening in the middle for the bridge.”
So, instead of building the bridge starting east of the tracks, contractors will likely start on the west where barriers to rerouting traffic do not currently exist.
Looking west from Loop 494. Note how new eastbound pavement on left is mostly complete.
Eastbound Surface Lanes Close to Concrete Pours
De Leon said contractors could finish the eastbound lanes between Loop 494 and US59 as early as Friday, 11/22/25. That would let contractors tear out the old eastbound lanes and create room to start building the bridge in the middle – independent of what UPRR does with the electricity for its crossing signals.
East of Loop 494, those eastbound surface lanes on the south side of Northpark are also nearing completion. Subsurface prep appears to be complete or nearly so.
Looking east toward Russell Palmer from in front of Dunkin’. Note the asphalt in the new lanes on the right.
Concrete comes next. “Once they finish that section, you’ll be able to drive on the new lanes on the south side all the way down past Russell Palmer. So, we’re close to getting everybody out of the middle on the eastbound lanes,” said De Leon. In other news…
Drainage Junction Boxes by UPRR Tracks Half Done
One of the two giant junction boxes by the UPRR tracks is now virtually complete. The boxes are the last link that will carry drainage from west of 494 to the Kingwood Diversion Ditch.
Junction box cast in place west of UPRR tracks. The huge opening on the front will connect to a culvert coming under Loop 494. The back of the box (top of frame) is already connected to twin 5′ culverts under the tracks.
Once work on this junction box is complete, contractors can finish Loop 494 paving according to De Leon. “So, then 494 will have a broader cross-section. That’ll be great,” he said. Note how the junction box currently constricts 494 traffic in the photo below.
Looking S along Loop 494 where Northpark crosses L to R.
Meanwhile, work is just beginning on the box east of Loop 494 where boring started.
Junction box east of tracks. Note twin culverts, concrete floor, and contractors erecting rebar for side walls.
Focus on Driveway Construction
De Leon also discussed the status of business driveways that branch off Northpark. “If you’re going westbound from that new Chevron station near the Diversion Ditch, all those driveways are still blocked out. They have to finish those driveways. And that will keep them busy for a couple of months.” There are a lot of businesses! See the barriers below.
Looking W from Russell Palmer Drive at driveway construction.
For More Information
See the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ 10 website for Project 1013.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/17/25
3002 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/20251117-image001.jpg?fit=1100%2C1071&ssl=110711100adminadmin2025-11-17 14:51:012025-11-19 07:02:58Northpark Contractors Begin Mobilizing for Bridge Construction
Federal Government Changing Rules that Protect Wetlands
11/21/25 – The Federal Government is again changing the rules that protect wetlands. The changes could reduce the volume of wetlands that enjoy federal protection by altering the definition of “Waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act to align with Supreme Court rulings.
The Government has opened public comment on the proposed language for 45 days – until January 5, 2026. Wetlands above dams and wetlands without continuous surface flow could be radically affected.
Reason for Changes
The proposed changes include clarification of many definitions that previously caused confusion and controversy because of their ambiguity.
Every day, regulators must draw black-and-white distinctions in a world characterized by infinite shades of gray. For instance, does a “continuous surface connection” to “waters of the U.S.” include wetlands going through a drought? Wetlands separated from a river by a dike? Wetlands that are only wet during the rainy season? Or wetlands upstream from a water-supply dam like Lake Houston or Lake Conroe?
The 49-page entry in the Federal Register notice states that the proposed definitions/changes seek to avoid “impairing or in any manner affecting any right or jurisdiction of the States with respect to waters (including boundary waters) of such States.” See 33 U.S.C. 1370.
Said another way, Federal Government seems to be turfing the task of interpreting some gray areas back to local jurisdictions. The notice says, “States and Tribes are free to address rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, and other features that do not meet the definition of “relatively permanent” as “waters of the State” or “waters of the Tribe” under their own laws to the extent they deem appropriate.
However, Texas largely relies on federal wetland protection. The state’s role is limited to certification, advisory review, and coastal management. I’m not aware of any comprehensive Texas law that independently protects inland wetlands from filling or drainage.
The Federal Register describes the changes and how they could affect different interest groups, situations and locations. I couldn’t possibly summarize them all in one page. But I will address one.
Wetlands Threatened in Lake Houston Area
Right now in the Lake Houston Area, we are looking at several major proposed developments that want to build over wetlands.
Signorelli has proposed building Crossing at the Commons of Lake Houston in the floodplain of the San Jacinto East Fork. Much of this area is wetlands.
And farther downstream on the East Fork, Ron Holley wants to build over wetlands both north and south of Royal Shores. Note the green areas east of High Valley and Royal Shores Drive in the wetlands map below.
Scarborough has proposed building out 5,316 acres at the confluence of the West Fork, Cypress Creek, Spring Creek and Turkey Creek.
Protect Your Wetlands. Submit Comments.
If you are concerned about protecting wetlands (and you should be if you want to reduce flooding), read this notice:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/11/20/2025-20402/updated-definition-of-waters-of-the-united-states
Then submit a public comment. Here’s why.
All the areas above are upstream from the Lake Houston dam. Make sure you note the following sentence under the proposed “Definition of Tributary.”
That says to me:
In my reading, this removes any incentive for developers to protect nature’s sponges and it increases flood risk for others who may live nearby or downstream.
What’s your interpretation? How do you feel? The EPA and Army Corps are seeking your input on such language. Such obscure definitions/interpretations could affect your family’s future safety and the value of your home.
Jill Boullion, Executive Director of the Bayou Land Conservancy had this to say. “Narrowing the definition of ‘Waters of the US (WOTUS)’ will not serve the Houston region well. Our region has already lost thousands of acres of wetlands over recent decades.”
She continued, “Wetlands protect our homes from flooding, clean our drinking water, and provide vital habitat for native plants and animals. Requiring a continuous surface connection to navigable water would immediately open many wetlands to being paved over. Due to the dry weather this year, many wetlands are currently dry but still serve an important purpose for a healthy community.”
Make sure you register your opinion here.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/21/2025
3006 Days since 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.
Conflict-of-Interest Ridden Colony Ridge Caught Operating without Permit, Polluting
11/20/25 – Maria Acevedo, a construction expert and environmental activist, observed a Colony Ridge cement contractor, Liberty Paving, operating without a permit. She also documented sediment runoff from the site that violated Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Best Management Practices (BMPs).
The lack of BMPs was polluting the surrounding area, which drains into the San Jacinto East Fork and has required tens of millions of dollars in dredging since the development of Colony Ridge began.
Acevedo reported the alleged violations to the TCEQ, which conducted its own investigation and issued a Notice of Enforcement.
Liberty Paving LLC, the contractor, has done more than $13 million worth of business for Liberty County Municipal Management District #1. Amazingly, the President of MMD #1 owns the paving contractor.
This letter from Attorney General Ken Paxton to members of Congress details a litany of other abuses and ethically ambiguous practices at Colony Ridge in Liberty County. Loopholes in Texas law big enough to drive cement trucks through enable them.
TCEQ Finds No Site Signage or Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan
When TCEQ investigated Acevedo’s complaint, it was not raining, so investigators could not confirm the allegations of runoff that Acevedo’s photos showed. However, TCEQ discovered that Liberty Paving was operating without coverage under the Construction General Permit, required site signage, and a mandatory Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). Neither was the company employing best management practices.
As a result, TCEQ issued a Notice of Enforcement Letter. TCEQ’s report says that Liberty Paving knew of its responsibilities because of permits issued at other sites outside Colony Ridge, but failed to comply inside Colony Ridge.
What exactly does TCEQ mean when it issues a notice of enforcement for “failure to obtain coverage under the Construction General Permit”? According to ChatGPT, the permit regulates:
Because the site began construction without filing the required notice of intent:
Conflict of Interest?
John Harris, the Colony Ridge developer, lists himself as the president of T-Rex Management, Inc., the general partner of Liberty Paving, LLC. But Harris is also the current president of Liberty County MMD #1.
Minutes of MMD #1 show that in 2023, Harris’ brother was president of the MMD when it approved $13 million in payments to Liberty Paving.
In most states this would be a clear conflict of interest. But Texas allows it if the parties recuse themselves from voting on the contract/payment and disclose their conflicts of interest.
Mr. Harris was evidently present for one vote on paving payments, but absent for another. The minutes do not reflect whether he disclosed the conflict of interest.
That’s pretty academic, however, when four MMD board members have ties to the developer or Harris’ family.
One former state legislator who is an expert on MMDs told me that even if a board member recuses himself, other members of the board know how to vote through winks and nods, i.e., things that don’t get recorded in minutes. He raised some interesting questions. Are bids sealed? Are bids opened in public with all bidders present? And should the vote to accept a bid count if the board member who refrains from voting is necessary to make a quorum?
According to ChatGPT, Texas stands out nationally due to MMDs being allowed to:
Most states allow reimbursement only for:
Nor do other states allow developers to:
However, it’s standard practice in Texas for:
Such practices are widely criticized as ethical conflicts of interest, even if they are not legal conflicts. They enable self-dealing and private gain from public-like financing powers. Yet it’s all technically legal if conflicts are disclosed and abstentions handled properly.
However, the Liberty County Attorney, Matthew Poston told Houston Landing…
Paxton Writes Scathing Colony Ridge Letter to Legislators
In Texas, the Attorney General does not normally police MMD self-dealing. However, two years ago, when illegal immigrant and consumer fraud scandals rocked Colony Ridge creating national headlines, Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote a scathing letter to members of Congress about his offices’ findings.
Among other things, Paxton’s four-page letter details how:
And Paxton didn’t even address Colony Ridge flooding!
For More On Colony Ridge
Consult this post – History of Heartbreak: A Colony Ridge Chronicle. It contains links to more than 75 previous posts with hundreds of photos taken on the ground and in the air. Scanning through them will make you wonder whether Paxton was too kind!
A development that didn’t exist 15 years ago is now 50% bigger than Manhattan … with hardly any flood control, fire hydrants, or police presence.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/20/25
3005 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Northpark Contractors Begin Mobilizing for Bridge Construction
11/17/25 – Contractors for the Northpark Drive expansion project have officially begun mobilizing to build the bridge that will go over the UnionPacific Railroad (UPRR) Tracks and Loop 494. This morning, I received notice that a piece of equipment called a “Kelly Bar” arrived at the job site. It will be used to drill 100-foot deep piers for the bridge.
ChatGPT says, “A telescopic Kelly bar is made of nested, hollow, steel tubes of successively smaller diameter which slide within one another, allowing the overall length to extend or retract depending on drilling depth.”
Think of an extension pole that can reach the extreme depths needed to support a bridge that will carry heavy loads.
At the monthly meeting of the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ 10 on 11/13/2025, Project Manager Ralph De Leon described next steps on the project.
Bridge Construction Will Likely Start on West Side of Loop 494
Contractors will likely start building the bridge on the west side of Loop 494 and work their way east. That’s because UPRR needs to move an electrical line that powers their railroad traffic signals. The line will move to a new pole just north (left) of the junction box shown below. The old pole is in the way of new surface turn lanes that will carry westbound traffic.
Note how traffic swerves right in the photo above. Until that pole moves, traffic must use the old surface lanes, which are in the bridge’s path.
Said De Leon, “So, we cannot build our feeder roads. The goal was to put everybody on the outside lanes to create an opening in the middle for the bridge.”
So, instead of building the bridge starting east of the tracks, contractors will likely start on the west where barriers to rerouting traffic do not currently exist.
Eastbound Surface Lanes Close to Concrete Pours
De Leon said contractors could finish the eastbound lanes between Loop 494 and US59 as early as Friday, 11/22/25. That would let contractors tear out the old eastbound lanes and create room to start building the bridge in the middle – independent of what UPRR does with the electricity for its crossing signals.
East of Loop 494, those eastbound surface lanes on the south side of Northpark are also nearing completion. Subsurface prep appears to be complete or nearly so.
Concrete comes next. “Once they finish that section, you’ll be able to drive on the new lanes on the south side all the way down past Russell Palmer. So, we’re close to getting everybody out of the middle on the eastbound lanes,” said De Leon. In other news…
Drainage Junction Boxes by UPRR Tracks Half Done
One of the two giant junction boxes by the UPRR tracks is now virtually complete. The boxes are the last link that will carry drainage from west of 494 to the Kingwood Diversion Ditch.
Once work on this junction box is complete, contractors can finish Loop 494 paving according to De Leon. “So, then 494 will have a broader cross-section. That’ll be great,” he said. Note how the junction box currently constricts 494 traffic in the photo below.
Meanwhile, work is just beginning on the box east of Loop 494 where boring started.
Focus on Driveway Construction
De Leon also discussed the status of business driveways that branch off Northpark. “If you’re going westbound from that new Chevron station near the Diversion Ditch, all those driveways are still blocked out. They have to finish those driveways. And that will keep them busy for a couple of months.” There are a lot of businesses! See the barriers below.
For More Information
See the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ 10 website for Project 1013.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/17/25
3002 Days since Hurricane Harvey