STORM SURGE SUPPRESSION STUDY PHASE 3 REPORT RECOMMENDED ACTIONS June 21,
2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, June 24, 2016
David Hagy
Gulf Coast Community Protection
and Recovery District, Inc.
703-835-2735
davidwhagy@gmail.com
STUDY RECOMMENDS STORM SURGE PROTECTION MEASURES FOR UPPER TEXAS
COAST
Phase 3 Report Provides a Framework for a Plan
Houston, Texas: The Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District,
Inc. (GCCPRD) has identified a compelling need for a storm surge protection
system on the upper Texas Coast. The Storm Surge Suppression Study Phase 3
Report: Recommended Actions identifies the preferred regional alternatives
across the North Region - Orange and Jefferson counties, Central Region -
Galveston, Chambers and Harris counties and South Region - Brazoria County and
Galveston County (vicinity of San Luis Pass). The report establishes a framework
for a plan and calls local, state and federally elected officials to become
advocates for coastal protection. This technical report was reviewed and
unanimously approved by the GCCPRD Board of Directors on Wednesday, June 22,
2016. "We are glad to see that this study is getting us closer to a consensus
plan and look forward to moving on to the next phase of this project," said
Former Harris County Judge Robert Eckels, President of the GCCPRD. "This plan is
a big step on the way to better protecting the citizens of Galveston County and
the upper Texas coast from future storm surge events. The GCCPRD will continue
to work with academia, community leaders and elected officials to move from
planning to design and construction," added Galveston County Judge Mark Henry,
Chair of the GCCPRD Board of Directors. The Storm Surge Suppression Study Phase
3 Report: Recommended Actions is now online at the GCCPRD website
(www.gccprd.com). The GCCPRD Study Area Plan is composed of the following
recommended regional alternatives:
North Region - The Jefferson/Orange Protection System Without the Neches
River Navigation Gate (Levees Only)
Central Region - High Island to San Luis Pass Coastal Spine with Galveston
Ring Levee and Clear Lake Gate Structure
South Region - Freeport Hurricane Flood Protection System Modernization and
Extension North Towards Angleton - Jones Creek Levee, Jones Creek Terminal Ring
Levee and Chocolate Bayou Ring Levee
The total cost for for implementing the GCCPRD study area coastal
protection plan is $11.6 billion. The total damage caused by Hurricane Ike alone
was over $30 billion. The upper Texas Coast has a population of more than six
million people, generates over 31 percent of the state's $1.4 trillion gross
domestic product and has a significant role in our nation's energy industry and
our national security. In comparison, the federal government invested $14.5
billion in hurricane protection for New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina to
protect a population of 900,000 people.
The upper Texas Coast has a population of more than six million people,
generates over 31 percent of the state's $1.4 trillion gross domestic product
and has a significant role in our nation's energy industry and our national
security. In comparison, the federal government invested $14.5 billion in
hurricane protection for New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina to protect a
population of 900,000 people. In addition to GCCPRD Board approval of the Phase
3 Report on Wednesday, the Board also accepted an additional Housing and Urban
Development Community Development Block Grant from the Texas General Land Office
to continue the Storm Surge Suppression Study. Phase Four of the study will
include the following actions:
Optimize the recommended alternatives to better estimate costs and benefits
Update depth damage curves for petrochemical facilities via economic
analysis
Complete the extended benefits analysis
Conduct additional environmental studies
Continue public outreach and stakeholder engagements
Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District, Inc.
Following three major hurricanes, the last of which (Hurricane Ike) was the
most expensive in Texas' history, Governor Rick Perry issued an Executive Order
creating the Governor's Commission for Disaster Recovery and Renewal. One of the
Commission's recommendations was to conduct a study to determine how coastal
communities can reduce the damaging impact of future storms. In conjunction with
that recommendation, Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Harris, Jefferson, and
Orange Counties formed the GCCPRD as a local government corporation. The GCCPRD
is now leading the Storm Surge Suppression Study, a technical, scientific-based
effort to investigate opportunities to alleviate the vulnerability of the upper
Texas coast to storm surge and flooding. The Storm Surge Suppression Study is
funded by the Texas General Land Office through a $3.9 million federal Housing
and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant awarded in September
2013. Since then, the GCCPRD has collected and analyzed existing data and
collaborated with other organizations and universities conducting similar work.
The study yielded a system of alternatives that consisted of a variety of
natural, structural, and nonstructural methods. Using these findings, the GCCPRD
issued the Phase 3 report recommending a cost-effective and efficient storm
surge suppression system to help protect the six-county region, providing a
framework for a plan and calling elected officials to become advocates for
coastal protection. With this effort, the GCCPRD assumed a leadership role and
worked collaboratively with federal, state, local, and public and private
institutions to develop a plan that meets the needs of the region and the
nation.
###
Gulf Coast Community Recovery and Protection District c/o Col. Christopher
Sallese, 3100 West Alabama St., Houston, TX 77098
GALVESTON DAILY NEWS
June 26, 2016
Galveston
Group recommends coastal spine, ring levee and Clear Lake gate for storm
surge plan Posted: Thursday, June 23, 2016 6:30 pm
Group recommends coastal spine, ring levee and Clear Lake gate for storm
surge plan By JOHN WAYNE FERGUSON The Daily News galvnews.com
A six-county board has recommended that Texas pursue a plan to build a 55.6
mile system of levees and gates in Galveston County to protect the greater
Houston area from storm surge caused by hurricanes.
The Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District released the
third phase of its Storm Surge Suppression Study on Wednesday evening,
completing more than two years of analysis about how the state should protect
itself from storm surge like what devastated Galveston and other areas during
Hurricane Ike.
snip...
The recommendation takes parts of two alternatives that had been released
as possible recommendations earlier this year.
IT DOES NOT INCLUDE A PROPOSAL TO BUILD A LEVEE ALONG STATE HIGHWAY 146,
WHICH DREW OBJECTIONS FROM SOME COUNTY RESIDENTS WHO COULD HAVE BEEN LEFT
OUTSIDE THE WALL.
snip...
Cornyn Introduces Bill to Expedite Federal Coastal Protection Project in
Texas
04/28/2016
Legislation Would Speed Up Army Corps’ Feasibility Study, Streamline
Authorization Process for Final Project
WASHINGTON –U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) this week introduced
legislation to speed up the process by which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
studies and begins construction of a federally-funded coastal protection project
along the Texas Gulf Coast. The Corps’ Obligation to Assist in Safeguarding
Texas (COAST) Act expedites the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ process for
completing the Coastal Texas Protection & Restoration Study, a necessary
prerequisite to any federally-funded protection project. The bill also
streamlines Congressional authorization for the project once the Corps completes
the feasibility study.
“Texans along our coast live under the constant threat of weather-related
devastation to their homes, their livelihoods, and their communities,” said Sen.
Cornyn. “By reducing inefficiency and eliminating duplication, we can speed up
the Army Corps’ process to ultimately help bring families, businesses, and
communities along the coast the peace of mind they deserve.”
Here and below is additional information on Sen. Cornyn’s
legislation.
Background on the COAST Act
Feasibility Study. The COAST Act would expedite the mandatory
pre-construction review process by requiring the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to
take into consideration studies already developed by the Gulf Coast Community
Protection and Recovery District (GCCPRD) while completing its Coastal Texas
Protection & Restoration Study. This provision was also included in the
Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) that passed out of the Senate Environment
and Public Works Committee today. Authorization of Recommendations. The COAST
Act would expedite completion of the reports for the Coastal Texas Protection
& Restoration Study and streamline the Congressional approval process by
allowing the final recommended project to proceed to the building phase without
additional authorization.
First, it would be nice to know if Senator John Cornyn supports the IKE
Dike, instead of the Rice Dike, before endorsing any Bill. for many families,
any support of the Rice Dike, raising SH 146 25 feet, would mean doom for anyone
living east of SH 146 when the next big one moves up the ship channel or just
south of Galveston, imo. ...
Mayor of Seabrook urges residents to be informed of storm surge option
Posted: Thursday, March 17, 2016 3:00 am By Y.C. Orozco
Since Hurricane Ike, experts have been trying to determine the most viable
option in establishing a water-tight defense against the next potential
hurricane to strike the Texas Gulf Coast, and the ongoing debate about how to
best protect the people and the billions of dollars of infrastructure invested
in the region remain indefinite. At a recent public meeting held at the San
Jacinto College Maritime Training Center, a panel consisting of state
representatives, members of the Economic Alliance of Houston Port Region, the
Galveston County Coalition for Justice and the Department of Maritime
Administration at Texas A&M University Galveston continued that debate.
On Tuesday, for their part, Seabrook city council had a more definitive
answer to at least one of those designs. In a unanimous vote, council members
voted against the proposed CR#2, described as a ‘low cost’ alternative option,
and one that has mostly been off the public radar.
Of the several proposals on the table, the so-called “coastal spine”, which
involves the construction of a floodgate between Galveston Bay and the Gulf of
Mexico to stop storm surge from entering the bay, remains the most cited in
terms of viability and broad support.
While not discussed at the panel discussion in detail, the CR#2, has been
presented by the Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District’s
(GCCPRD) Storm Surge Suppression Study Phase 2 Report. This plan would construct
a sea levee running parallel to SH 146 from Texas City, through Seabrook and La
Porte.
“It would split these communities in half,” said Seabrook Mayor Glenn
Royal, referring to not only his municipality but others throughout the
area.
While Royal concedes that the option appears to be, at this stage, the less
viable option on the table, its inclusion in the study, he believes, gives it
enough legitimacy to initiate a more public forum of discussion, particularly
for those residents that live in the communities that could potentially be
affected.
In a letter to residents this week, Royal wrote that “only a few are
alarmed and many think a levee dividing Seabrook will never be seriously
considered…it has been included in a state government funded study as an
alternative design” to the coastal spine concept recommended by Dr. Bill Merrell
with Texas A&M at Galveston.
One of the primary issues for Royal is that CR#2 could go forward without
the public being fully briefed on the potential repercussions if it is followed
through.
“What concerns me is that the public wasn’t aware of it,” he said. “I’m
just more alarmed that the 146 levee option would even be considered in this
kind of government document because it clearly chooses winner and losers.”
As it is, the CR#2 option would not, Royal argues, protect the Bayport
maritime, petrochemical, and storage tank industrial complex.
While proposed as a ‘lost cost’ alternative based on cost-benefit analysis,
Royal, in his letter, detailed some of the ways the proposal could have negative
ramifications: it fails to factor in the financial impact and potential burden
to residents and business owners affected; possible higher insurance rates,
decreased property value to those “on the wrong side” of the levee. It could
also, he writes, impact city facilities, schools, police and fire stations by
raising operating costs because of higher taxes and fees.
“It has put me in the position where I have to protect Seabrook,” Royal
said.
“What I picked up on is that it was the low-cost option, and being in
government for several years now I know how that thinking goes – it’s all about
conservation of funds.”
There are several public meetings scheduled for the next month, the next
was scheduled to take place Tuesday at the League City Civic Center on Walker
and after that on March 24 in Galveston.
Pete Braccio, a Seabrook resident and former city councilman, believes CR#2
is the least desirable option. In theory, the ‘coastal spine’ would provide
protection to the entire region, including Galveston and the shoreline along the
bays and down to the Ship Channel. CR#2, Braccio believes, is the weakest link
in the debate.
“It makes a lot of us angry because it’s showing a disregard for not only
our communities but for the people living here that are going to be impacted,”
he said.
Braccio thinks residents can make an impact of their own on the debate by
educating themselves and participating in the upcoming public meetings.
“The people of Seabrook are not afraid to challenge anybody who tries to
screw around with our municipalities, let alone our lifestyle. What we’re doing
now is looking at this alternative CR#2, seeing what the source is and what the
logic is. What are the benefits and to whom?”
In a recent study by the Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery
District, it is estimated that construction of a storm surge protection system
along the Texas Gulf Coast will cost between $7.9 billion and $11 billion.
Mayor Royal wants CR#2 to put be out there in the open and for residents to
have a voice.
“I struggle with the notion that in Texas, in the United States, we’re
going to choose a barrier system that would castigate some to the sea,” he said.
“That’s not what we do. We protect all.”
The Tuesday, March 22nd meeting will be held at the League City Civic
Center, 400 West Walker Street, League City, Texas 77573. If unable to attend,
residents can email comments to info@gccprd.com or via mail to Gulf Coast
Community Protection and Recovery District, c/o Col. Christopher Sallese, 3100
West Alabama St., Houston, Texas 77098.
“I struggle with the notion that in Texas, in the United States, we’re
going to choose a barrier system that would castigate some to the sea,” he said.
“That’s not what we do. We protect all.”
Bravo Mayor Royal of Seabrook, I agree in totality...kind regards,
terry
Friday, March 18, 2016
Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District (GCCPRD) will host a
series of public meetings in March 2016 Storm Surge Suppression Study
From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2016 2:33 PM
To: info@gccprd.com
Subject: re-Reminder: Join us for the GCCPRD Phase 2 Public Meetings
Greetings Mayor Royal and all our fine Neighbors down the shoreline in
Seabrook, Kemah, Shore Acres, La Porte, Bayview, Sunny San Leon, Bacliff,
Hillmansville, and to anyone else I might have missed that may be concerned with
our federal government hanging all of us out to dry or to drown just to save
Houston and it’s precious petro chemical complex and it’s precious ship channel.
I kindly would like to comment on this please.
So soon some forget. New Orleans survived Hurricane Katrina, what New
Orleans did not survive was the Army Corp of Engineer and the Levee failures
there from, and it does not take a rocket scientist to know, if you build a town
in the bottom of a bowl, your going to have problems. we all have known since
Hurricanes Katrina and Ike and before, that this community needs a storm wall at
the coast to protect us all, thus, the TAMU Ike Dike was proposed to protect all
of Galveston Bay, and everyone inside of it. Since then, corporate politics have
taken the forefront, and science was sent to the rear of the bus. now it seems
that all anyone is interested in is protecting Houston and the Petro Chemical
Ship Channel, and all some of us have become is collateral damage, as those of
us living east of state highway 146 from Texas City to La Porte, and everyone
in-between. it’s been a decade since Katrina and about 7 years or so since Ike,
and here we still sit, waiting for another study, and you can see the writing on
the wall, the only thing they are waiting on is a study that only protects the
Houston Ship Channel and Houston, yet hangs everyone out to dry east of State
Hwy 146, to make way for a tourist recreational land on our old homesteads.
those plans my fine neighbors and friends are already in the drawings, and
that’s no joke. 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 IKE 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 Hartman Bridge, and or the Lone Star Coastal National Recreation Area
(LSCNRA, which is the RICE DIKE in disguise, don’t take the bait). WE already
know what Houston officials are capable of doing to us during an emergency i.e.
protect their own, and they have done it to us in the past, all one has to do is
remember Hurricane Rita and that nightmare on Interstate 45, when Houston
officials got scared and evacuated everybody from Houston first, when Galveston
and the 2nd tier water front was suppose to be evacuated first. Houston could
care less about our Galveston Bay communities. Furthermore, Professor Merrell of
TAMU and who from day one, fully supported only the IKE Dike as it was
originally put forth, and agrees with the conception of what would happened to
all of us if you dam up the North end of Galveston Bay. I have personally spoken
with Professor Merrel at meetings and via emails, and unless he has changed his
mind since, he is still dead set against anything but the original Ike Dike
Proposals. If we let them our government officials, the Houston Ship Channel,
and their corporate cronies dictate to us what we need, we will never get it,
it’s all politics now. Building anything but the original Ike Dike first, like
the coastal spines, building up SH146 25 feet and closing off bayous, or the
closing of the North end of Galveston Bay under Fred Hartman Bridge, if any of
these are to start first, we will never see the light of day for any Ike Dike,
nor will our children and their children. We all may as well write our social
security numbers on our arms now, because damming up the North End of Galveston
bay, and surrounding Bayous and inlets, with the SSPEED Rice Dike proposal will
only cause tsunami’s for surrounding coastal communities. we saw that during
Hurricane Ike, without the North End of Galveston bay being dammed up. so, my
final question, if the SSPEED Rice Dike is put forth, that only protects the
Houston Ship Channel Petro Chemical complex’s, and by it’s own construction
assuredly puts all of our lives at a much higher risk that live around the
adjacent shoreline communities, and the Ike Dike which would protect us all is
tabled, will it then be Rice University, the big petro chemical oil machine, the
Port of Houston, the GLO and the Army Corp of Engineers be responsible for
killing all those that were left as collateral damage living on and around the
adjacent shore lines of Galveston Bay when the next big one hits? You cannot
blame stupid on a Hurricane.
imo, if the IKE dike is not possible, then take the money and go up to the
San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site and keep that crap from leaking more
into Galveston Bay from the North, something that is happening as we speak.
plus, seems officials have already wrote us off the map to bring in hotels,
motels, and waterfront recreation. what is this, eminent domain by proxy, forced
intentional flooding for everyone east of SH 146 so they can build commercial
waterfront real-estate?
*** Furthermore, this proposal leaves waterfront properties and communities
east of SH- 146 vulnerable; however, it maintains the possibility of waterfront
recreation and other environmental and natural coastal features.
page 11, the building and writing off of all surrounding coastal
communities for a new recreational tourist attraction $$$
Greetings Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District in care of
Col. Christopher Salles, the Honorable Col. Salles Sir, Honorable GCCPRD
President Judge Robert Eckels, Family, Friends, and Neighbors of the surrounding
Galveston Bay complex.
I wish to kindly submit the following to Gulf Coast Community Protection
and Recovery District in care of Col. Christopher Salles, the Honorable Col.
Salles Sir, Honorable GCCPRD President Judge Robert Eckels, about said Hurricane
protection proposals.
>>> Two major ideas have emerged to prepare and protect the
Houston-Galveston region from severe storms and hurricanes in the aftermath of
Hurricane Ike in 2008. <<<
THE BIG DIFFERENCE between the two proposals, the RICE SPPEED dike will NOT
protect a great portion of Galveston County, and by the RICE SPPEED dike
proposal own words ;
“Furthermore, this proposal leaves waterfront properties and communities
east of SH- 146 vulnerable; however, it maintains the possibility of waterfront
recreation and other environmental and natural coastal features.”
ALL the Rice SPPEED dike will do, is protect Houston and the Houston Ship
channel and all it’s petro-chemical complex, by damming up the North end of
Galveston bay and adding a 25 foot seawall down the west side of SH 146 from
Baytown to Texas City, making a wasteland and next a recreational park for the
rich to come play in, at the expense to tax payers. my biggest concern is the
petro-chemical giants getting their way, with the rice SSPEED dike, at the tax
payers expense, and that will be signing a death sentence for all of us when the
next big one comes up the ship channel. you can’t dam us out, east of SH 146,
and just draw a pretty picture replacing us, as the rice dike proposes, and what
we all know would happen if you dam up the North end of Galveston bay, and
building a 25 feet wall west of SH 146 on the old train tracks. it will be doom
for La Porte, Seabrook, Kemah, Bayview, Bacliff, San Leon, up to Texas City,
Texas. the Rice Dike is absolutely the wrong way to go. Vote for the Ike Dike
T.A.M.U. ! if the petro chemical giants want a wall only to protect them, let
them build it by themselves, not on the tax payers backs, and again, at the same
time knowing what your signing is your own death certificate. you may as well
write your Social Security number on your arms now if the Rice SSPEED Dike goes
through. it could be grounds for litigations in courts for decades to come,
deliberate loss of property and life, with intent. they knew would it would do
from day one, because they drew a damn map drawing all of us out, and replacing
us with ‘’waterfront recreation and other environmental and natural coastal
features’’.
I am asking for the people of the surrounding Galveston Bay areas to please
support the TAMU IKE DIKE, so we can all be protected, not just Houston, and the
petro-chemical complex up the Houston Ship Channel.
please see my reference materials and evidence against the Rice SPPEED dike
proposal as reference materials below...
REFERENCE MATERIALS
RICE SPPEED DIKE ALREADY HAS BIG PLANS FOR COMMERCIAL PROPERTY EAST OF SH
146 FROM BAYTOWN TO TEXAS CITY, TEXAS.
vote for the IKE dike, if we even will get a vote, and make sure to make
the petro-chemical companies pay for their fair share of the protection from the
_Ike_ dike proposal by TAMU.
if the Rice SSPEED dike is approved, the federal government should be
forced to buy us all out, at top dollar. ...
see 25 foot damn along SH 146 ;
image
Hurricane Ike here is a view from our pier back to the garage apartment,
the garage, and the main house, the day before Hurricane Ike. video scans down
shoreline in front of your house James and Tammy, and then, about halfway
through the video, after a big wave came crashing over the top of the hill, I
went in, still well before landfall of Ike, the pier went 12 hours before Ike
made landfall, or there abouts. then the video picks of the day after. HURRICANE
IKE bonnie and terry day before and the day after IKE Bacliff 77518
HURRICANE IKE Bacliff, two days later, see a video from our neighbors yard,
looking back to our gutted out apartment ‘mother-in-laws-house’ and garage, (see
how high tide still is along Bacliff shoreline), and the big rocks in neighbors
backyard and pool.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Proposed Lone Star Coastal National Recreation Area or Rice Dike Post
Hurricane Land Grab in Disguise or Has There Been a Ike Dike Game Change Plan ?
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
IKE DIKE 3rd PROPOSAL CALLS FOR 'MID-BAY' GATE NEAR SAN LEON ACROSS TO
SMITH POINT AREA
say no to the RICE DIKE and or any Centennial Gate across the end of
Galveston Bay at Fred Hartman Bridge, including the Lone Star Coastal National
Recreation Area (LSCNRA, which is the RICE DIKE in disguise, don’t take the
bait). ...
Thursday, November 27, 2014
IKE DIKE VS RICE DIKE PUBLIC INPUT SOUGHT PLEASE WRITE IN SUPPORT OF TAMU
IKE DIKE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
*** Ike Dike Scientist Professor William Merrell sees NO chance of
compromise !
Monday, April 15, 2013
Hurricane Ike: 5 Years Later Conference Rice Dike Proposal September
24-25, 2013
Sunday, June 9, 2013
RICE DIKE AND IKE DIKE ARE RIVALS NO MORE, AND HAS BACKED OFF THE PROPOSAL
OF A 20-MILE 25 FOOT LEVEE ALONG SH 146
Monday, November 18, 2013
Is your community just collateral damage? RICE DIKE VS IKE DIKE
Friday, December 6, 2013
IKE DIKE TAMU VS Rice SSPEED Dike Centennial gate from Hell
October 10, 2012
IKE DIKE PROPOSED BY RICE UNIVERSITY hangs our Bayshore communities out to
dry, IN 25 FEET OF WATER, to make way for WATERFRONT RECREATION $$$
Sunday, December 9, 2012
*** RICE DIKE PROPOSAL COULD DESTROY GALVESTON BAY BAYSHORE COMMUNITIES
Terry S. Singeltary Sr. Bacliff, Texas USA 77518 Galveston Bay, on the
bottom flounder9@verizon.net
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