Some federally-funded flood mitigation projects will not meet the state spending deadline, Harris County Flood Control District Executive Director Marcus Stuckett said Nov. 12.
The overview
Stuckett gave a presentation to the Harris County Commissioners Court during its regular meeting, warning the court that five flood mitigation projects are expected to miss the deadline. Three will be adjusted to only include a stormwater detention basin, with the remaining two being removed from the flood mitigation program.
The projects are part of two federal grant programs, disaster recovery and flood mitigation, that allocated $1.1 billion in project funds to Harris County in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Community Impact previously reported. The projects have faced scrutiny from the commissioners and Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, who oversees the Texas General Land Office, for potentially missing the spending deadline.
Buckingham previously warned Harris County the GLO would move to reclaim the grant funding if projects miss the deadline. In September, she announced a one-year extension, moving the deadline for disaster recovery projects to February 2028 and the deadline for flood mitigation projects to March 2029.
Despite the extension, Stuckett said five of the 17 flood mitigation projects are projected to miss the deadline.
“Some of those projects are still in design and development, and a one-year extension does not give us enough time to complete some of those projects, which will require us to rescope, as well as remove some of those from the program,” Stuckett said.
However, he said all disaster recovery projects will meet the new deadline. The HCFCD is responsible for the 28 combined projects.
The projects that need to be rescoped or removed from the program are:
Saltwater Ditch channel conveyance improvements in Precinct 1
Channel conveyance improvements in Precinct 1
Rosewood Stormwater Detention Basin in Precinct 1 (removed)
Hardy West Stormwater Detention Basin in Precinct 2
Boudreaux Stormwater Detention Basin in Precinct 3 (removed)
Right-of-way acquisitions and environmental permitting are the biggest challenges to completing projects on time, Stuckett said.
Another detail
The HCFCD has about $113 million in unallocated funds for its disaster recovery projects because it has updated budget numbers and project bids were lower than expected, according to the presentation. The HCFCD was allocated $322 million in total for disaster recovery projects.
Stuckett said the unallocated disaster recovery funds do not mean a loss of projects or benefits.
The flood mitigation projects have $207 million in unallocated funds, Stuckett said.
If the flood mitigation projects are able to get a two-year extension, the unallocated fund balance would drop to about $48 million, Stuckett said. If a three-year extension is granted, almost all of the unallocated funds would be spent if new projects are added, he said.
However, Stuckett warned commissioners that with many projects still in design and development, the costs can still fluctuate as they progress to construction.
“You won’t know a final number until you’re done with construction, you’ve had all your pay items done and submitted all your paperwork,” Stuckett said.
What’s next
Commissioners voted unanimously to have the HCFCD partner with other agencies on a bond work group to find new ways to spend the existing federal funds. The HCFCD is expected to return to court Feb. 11 with recommendations on how to spend the money and finish projects.
The court also directed the county’s Office of Intergovernmental and Global Affairs to draft a letter to the state’s congressional delegation requesting support to ensure the federal funds remain dedicated to Harris County.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia, who proposed the two motions, said he wants to try to give the HCFCD “a little breathing room” to spend money and deliver the projects.
“In my previous meetings in D.C., I was told repeatedly, ‘This money has no timeline,’” Garcia said.
However, Garcia added he knows of conversations about pulling the federal funding from Harris County and directing it to other projects in the state.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis said the county needs to do “whatever we have to do to get those projects done.”
“It’s important, with whatever resources we have to use, to make sure that we get all of those projects done,” Ellis said.
