Ike Dike Scientist Professor William Merrell sees NO chance of compromise !
BRAVO!!!
Legislators want quick action on Ike Dike
Texas A&M's Ike Dike plan favored by local governments who spurn Rice center's Centennial Gate idea
August 4,
2014 | Updated: August 4, 2014
8:43pm
Bill Merrell, TAMU-Galveston
oceanographer, proposes to build an Ike Dike from one end of Galveston Island
across Bolivar Peninsula Tuesday, April 7, 2009, in Houston. Shown at the statue
along the Seawall commemorates the storm that devastated the island city of
Galveston in 1900. (Melissa Phillip / Chronicle ) for Eric Berger story
August 4,
2014 | Updated: August 4, 2014
8:43pm
At a hearing at Texas A&M University Galveston, members of the Joint Committee on a Coastal Barrier System expressed frustration that the universities who took the initiative to devise a storm protection plan - Texas A&M Galveston and a Rice University-based center - were still arguing over the best approach.
"The fact is that Hurricane Ike was six years ago and we are still talking about how to come to a consensus," said Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood and the co-chairman of the joint committee. "We've got to move forward."
Legislators said they wanted a proposal they could turn into legislation soon. "You have to come up with a plan that can be passed," said committee Co-Chairman Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont.
If the two sides fail to come together by the time the committee reconvenes in September, legislators said, they will take steps to bring about an agreement. "We'll do something to encourage them," Taylor said, adding that it could include picking a person or a committee to work out a deal.
The comments from Democrats and Republicans on the 23-member panel in support of speedy action are significant, given that the Legislature historically has taken little interest in coastal issues.
"Just having that meeting today was a win for Texas because that's the first time the Texas Legislature has stepped forward," said Chris Sallese, a former head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston Division. Sallese is now program manager for Dannenbaum Engineering, which has been hired to do a storm protection study for the six-county Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District.
Still, it may not be easy to get an agreement between the sources of the competing ideas: Texas A&M Galveston and the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters Center, or SSPEED Center, at Rice University.
Dike vs. gate
Texas A&M is backing a storm protection barrier proposal known as the Ike Dike, which would stretch from San Luis Pass at the western end of Galveston Island to High Island on the eastern end of the Bolivar Peninsula. Skeptics have said the idea is too costly.
Texas A&M marine scientist William Merrell proposed the concept soon after Ike caused an estimated $25 billion in damage to the Houston area, making it the costliest storm in Texas history.
The SSPEED Center, which draws on ideas from all over Texas, originated the proposal for the Centennial Gate at the head of the Houston Ship Channel. That plan calls for a ring barrier around the populated portion of Galveston Island, and a storm levee along Texas 146 to protect the western edge of Galveston Bay.
After the hearing, Jim Blackburn, a professor at the SSPEED Center, said he was confident that an agreement could be reached. But when Merrell was asked if there was a chance of a compromise, he responded, "No."
"We've got a concept, we think it's a good one and we are going to keep doing it," Merrell said. "The Centennial Gate never did hunt."
Merrell said he would welcome the backing of the SSPEED Center.
Although the Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District was created specifically to study the problem addressed by the hearing, it was not listed on Monday's agenda.
Robert Eckels, the district's president, told committee members that he and the chairman of the nine-member board, Galveston County Judge Mark Henry, had planned to address the panel, but that previous commitments prevented them from doing so. Eckels handed the committee a prepared statement.
Taylor noted that although the Houston area is years away from breaking ground on any storm protection project, the Corps of Engineers was given $16 billion after Hurricane Katrina and within three years had completed a storm barrier to protect New Orleans. In contrast, the Corps lacks the $10 million it needs to even begin a study of protections needed for Galveston Bay.
With the Corps of Engineers lacking money and the Gulf Coast District study just gearing up, all of the studies so far have been done with private money backing concepts at the two competing universities.
The SSPEED Center was formed in 2010, when the economy was still struggling and obtaining state or federal funds for storm protection seemed remote. Center officials devised proposals that could be built quickly and funded locally. Doing so meant smaller projects to protect key areas. One SSPEED Center idea, the creation of the Lone Star Coastal National Recreation Area, found widespread support. Even Merrell supported the idea.
But the SSPEED Center was forced to abandon its other projects, with the exception of the Centennial Gate, for lack of public support, Blackburn told the committee.
Legislators showed little support for projects paid for only with local money. State Rep. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood, asked Blackburn to include the possibility of federal funding in SSPEED studies.
Merrell favored
Testimony overwhelmingly favored Merrell's coastal spine proposals. The mayors of Galveston, Seabrook and Morgan's Point testified, all three among 26 local governments that have signed pledges of support for the Ike Dike concept, estimated to cost between $4 billion and $6 billion.
Although several speakers supported the concept, *** no one other than Blackburn voiced support for the SSPEED Center project. Blackburn was questioned more intensely than Merrell and his testimony was interrupted by shouts and mutterings from the back of the auditorium. One man yelled, "It's time we talk about Merrell."
Blackburn nevertheless said SSPEED was willing to share its information. "We are extremely vulnerable," he said about the storm-surge threat. "That's one reason we are willing to bend over backwards to move toward consensus."
*** no one other than Blackburn voiced support for the SSPEED Center project.
Legislators want fast action on Ike Dike
By Harvey Rice | August 4, 2014
GALVESTON - Texas legislators on Monday lamented a
disagreement over how to protect the Houston region from a storm surge like the
one spawned by Hurricane Ike and urged that a plan be brought to the Legislature
as soon as possible.
"The fact is that Hurricane Ike was six years
ago and we are still talking about how to come to a consensus," said Larry Taylor,
R. Friendswood
and co-chairman of the Joint Committee
on a Coastal Barrier System, which conducted a hearing at Texas A&M University
in Galveston. "We've got to move forward."
It may not be easy to forge an agreement between the sources of the competing ideas: Texas A&M Galveston and the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center at Rice University.
Texas A&M is backing the coastal spine proposal, popularly known as the Ike Dike, which would run the length of Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula. The concept came from Texas A&M marine scientist William Merrell. The SSPEED Center, which draws on ideas from all over Texas, originated the proposal for the Centennial Gate at the head of the Houston Ship Channel, a ring barrier around the populated portion of Galveston Island, and a storm levee along Texas 146 to protect the western edge of Galveston Bay.
If the two sides fail to agree by the time legislators reconvene the joint committee in September, legislators will take steps to make an agreement happen, said state Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Coastal Barrier System.
It may not be easy to forge an agreement between the sources of the competing ideas: Texas A&M Galveston and the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center at Rice University.
Texas A&M is backing the coastal spine proposal, popularly known as the Ike Dike, which would run the length of Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula. The concept came from Texas A&M marine scientist William Merrell. The SSPEED Center, which draws on ideas from all over Texas, originated the proposal for the Centennial Gate at the head of the Houston Ship Channel, a ring barrier around the populated portion of Galveston Island, and a storm levee along Texas 146 to protect the western edge of Galveston Bay.
If the two sides fail to agree by the time legislators reconvene the joint committee in September, legislators will take steps to make an agreement happen, said state Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Coastal Barrier System.
the Rice *** will ONLY protect the big chemical and petro plants north of Fred Hartman Bridge, while creating a damn that would backwash large tsunami like waves that would destroy everything south of Fred Hartman bridge around Galveston Bay, if another Hurricane Ike came up ship channel.
solution ;
JUST SAY YES TO THE TAMU IKE ***, and NO to any part of the Rice *** that builds anything north of Galveston island.
the same chemical and petro company's should foot half the bill with the Ike ***...
WITH regards to the TAMU Ike Dike vs SSPEED Rice Dike
Centennial Gate, I want to thank Professor William Merrell continued support of
the Ike Dike vs the SSPEED Rice Dike, his steadfast stand against Jim Blackburn
et al (Ike Dike scientist sees NO chance of comprimise), about Mr.
Jim Blackburns continued support of the SSPEED Rice Dike vs Ike Dike, and what
it would do to everyone around Galveston Bay (except the petro and chemical
plants North of Fred Hartman Bridge), especially Professor Merrell’s statement
about the Rice Dike Centennial Gate ;
‘’The Centennial Gate never did hunt’’
and the SSPEED Rice Dike never should hunt with anyone
living on or around Galveston Bay.
why should any of us pay to protect only the petro and
chemical plants, with something that could completely wash us away ???
personally, if there cannot be a Rice Dike that
protects all of us, then I would rather have no Dike at al, if the only other
alternative was the SSPEED Rice Dike Centennial Gate at Fred Harman
Bridge...
Friday, December 6, 2013
IKE DIKE TAMU VS Rice SSPEED Dike Centennial gate from Hell
Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
Bacliff, Texas 77518
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