By Cyrus Reed
Public critiques of the federal and state responses to last year’s devastating hurricanes have ranged from lackluster to downright awful, especially the Trump administration’s handling of Hurricane Maria recovery in Puerto Rico. While this criticism is very valid, including in Texas, where some suggest that there has been some favoritism for Republican-held jurisdictions, there has been an enormous amount of aid approved for recovery - about $200 billion (roughly half slated for Texas). So it’s worth taking a closer look at what’s going on.
Tracking that money is pretty hard, and much of it is tied to the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), which tracks and oversees individual relief requests, flood insurance claims, and other efforts. However, large chunks of change are actually coming through Texas cities, counties, and state agencies to begin the work of rebuilding.
A very important earmark is going through the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). About $10 billion will go to Texas for housing recovery and related infrastructure through HUD. The plan for these funds is actually being developed as we speak through the Texas General Land Office, which was named by Governor Abbott to oversee the HUD funding. First up is a plan by the GLO to distribute about $5.024 billion, about half of which will be turned over to the City of Houston and Harris County, who will in turn develop public plans on how to spend the money. Indeed, both City of Houston and Harris County are actively putting together public input and stakeholder input processes this summer to get their plans into the GLO by July. (See below for links to upcoming meetings).
The rest? Well, it gets complicated, but essentially their plan - which has been submitted to HUD but yet to be approved - is to divide it roughly into eight buckets of money which will be distributed mainly in 16 key counties, with less for other counties hard hit by Harvey.
GLO just ended an initial round of meetings and comments on the plan, and they have turned over their plan to HUD for final approval. Soon, the City of Houston and Harris County pieces will be incorporated into the GLO plan for another round of comments. Harris County has stated they intend to submit their plan - which is being developed through a series of community meetings - by July 10. Recently, the City of Houston’s Housing and Community Development Department released its local action plan for Hurricane Harvey housing recovery, and it will be accepting comments through June 21.
Once the GLO plan (with city and county plans) is approved by HUD, the majority of the money must be spent within two years, and all of it within six years.
The money itself will be distributed through a variety of university, local government, and private contracts to rebuild, plan, and redevelop the coast.
HUD Long-Term Housing Plan (Program Description - Proposed Amount)
Harris County direct allocation - $1.115 billion
CIty of Houston direct allocation - $1.115 billion
Homeowner Assistance: Funding for rehabilitation and reconstruction of single-family homes - $1.048 billion
Local Buyout and Acquisition - $275 million
Homeowner Reimbursements - $100 million
Homelessness Prevention - $50 million
Affordable Rental: Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and New Construction - $250 million
Local Infrastructure - $413 million
Economic Revitalization - $100 million
Local, Regional and State Planning - $137 million
State Administration - $251 million
What Does Sierra Club Think About The Plan?
While we think they got the “buckets” right, we expressed specific concerns about the relatively small amount of funding going to affordable public housing and affordable rental space. We also want to ensure the money is spent equitably and can also assist communities doubly harmed by Harvey and pollution from industrial spills and accidents. The plan should also ensure that none of the “infrastructure” funding go towards major construction projects, but is instead directly linked to protecting the areas where the housing is being rebuilt. We also felt like the State Administration expense at $251 million was a bit too high. See here for a copy of our comments.
What Other Funding Opportunities Are Being Discussed?
In addition to the GLO’s long-term housing plan, it is also working on more immediate short-term housing assistance in coordination with FEMA, overseeing six different programs. These programs are up and operating, though accessing these funds has proved difficult for some homeowners. One program, PREPS (Partial Repair and Essential Power for Sheltering), ran into some problems with some less-than-honest contractors (see here).
While the City of Houston and Harris County are busy preparing their own HUD-funding plans, Harris County is also developing, with citizen input, a $2.51 billion flood mitigation infrastructure bonding proposal that could go to voters at the end of August. Sierra Club is working with our allies to ensure that much of the bonding funds will be spent equitably on buy-outs of flood-prone homes and “green” infrastructure which takes advantage of natural processes to protect communities. In fact, Sierra Club is one of 22 organizations that have helped create the Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience (CEER), which is providing input and education in the post-Harvey world along the Gulf Coast, including in the development of the bonding proposal. To its credit, Harris County has announced a series of public meetings in the different areas impacted by flooding (more info here).
More Information
- CEER is our coalition website with lots of information about post-Harvey rebuilding efforts and raising awareness between pollution, place, and the public’s health. Website: www.ceerhouston.org
- The Houston Organizing Movement for Equity (HOME) Coalition is another coalition in which Sierra Club participates. Recently, the coalition submitted a letter to the City of Houston on their proposed plan for spending $1.1 billion. Website: htxrising.org.
- Rebuild Texas Today is the State of Texas official website of the special appointed commission known as the The Governor’s Commission to Rebuild Texas. Appointed by the Governor, Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp is the head of the Commission. The website tracks disaster relief, FEMA programs and progress, and official reports, such as an “infrastructure” plan of $61 billion in projects. Website: rebuidtexas.today.
- Texas Rebuilds: Community Development & Revitalization is the General Land Office website for all things disaster relief, including programs they run, links to other agencies, including FEMA, and opportunities for public comment and public meetings. Websites: texasrebuilds.org and glo.texas.gov/texasrebuilds.
- There's also FEMA’s Texas Harvey pag. Website: fema.gov/disaster/4332.
- Information about Harris County’s long-term housing plan being developed can be found here: harriscountycommunitycorner.org.
- Information about City of Houston’s long-term housing plan - including public meetings -- can be found here: houstontx.gov/housing. (There are literally dozens of hearings in the coming weeks.)
- Harris County’s proposed project list for its bonding authority, as well as an opportunity to provide public input, can be found here: hcfcd.org/bond-program.
Photo: U.S. Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Daniel J. Martinez