Federal funds flow into Texas for recovery from Harvey, fall floods

Feb. 26-- Feb. 26--In a pair of announcements Monday, federal and state officials said help is on the way for those still recovering from recent disasters.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said it has approved the state's updated Hurricane Harvey recovery plan submitted in November, including $652 million to supplement the $5 billion allocated in 2018.

Also Monday, President Donald Trump approved a major disaster declaration for more than 30 Texas counties, including Travis, that were hit by devastating floods in September and November. The declaration makes federal funds available to state and local governments, along with private nonprofit organizations, for repairs related to the floods and hazard mitigation to lessen the impact of future flooding.

The latest amendment to the Texas General Land Office's plan allocates federal funding to its programs and Houston and Harris County programs. The goal is to rebuild homes, businesses and public transportation networks and to mitigate future disasters including flooding, Gov. Greg Abbott said.

"We are working to make sure that these resources will be allocated in a way that will help those affected rebuild quickly," he said.

Since the hurricane struck East Texas in 2017, recovery efforts have been funded by HUD community block grants, hazard mitigation, FEMA and state dollars.

"Recovery can never move fast enough, especially for those trying to put their lives back together," U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said.

Of the $652 million added to the state's Hurricane Harvey recovery plan, $236 million will go to the General Land Office Homeowner Assistance Program to repair single-family homes, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush said in a news release. Another $200 million will go to the office's Affordable Rental Program to repair or reconstruct rented homes.

Nearly $4.3 billion of the original $5 billion allocated in April is intended to fund disaster mitigation, but the General Land Office is waiting for HUD to announce the rules that will guide the use of the funds, a process Carson said would end in May. Hurricane season officially begins in June.

In January, Bush sent a letter to Trump that asked him to expedite HUD's rules for the allocation. "This continued delay is resulting in homeowner distress, community degradation and increased costs to the federal government due to subsequent damaging events," Bush wrote. "This is unacceptable."

The General Land Office estimates the value of unmet need in Texas as a result of Hurricane Harvey at more than $105 billion.

"The dollars we talk about today will take years to draw down, but you have my word, HUD will do everything we can for a speedy recovery in your state," Carson said.

The devastating flooding last fall came as a series of storms poured rain into waterways throughout Central Texas from Sept. 10 through Nov. 2. In Austin, an influx of murky water and debris overwhelmed the city's water treatment system and led to the issuance of a citywide boil-water notice in October. Upstream, portions of Marble Falls were inundated by raging floodwaters. Several homes along Lake Marble Falls and the Llano River were ripped apart and sent downstream, along with boats, vehicles and even the RM 2900 bridge spanning the Llano River.

The counties covered by the federal disaster declaration are: Archer, Baylor, Brown, Burnet, Callahan, Comanche, Coryell, Dimmit, Edwards, Fannin, Franklin, Grimes, Haskell, Hill, Hopkins, Houston, Jones, Kimble, Kinney, Knox, Llano, Madison, Mason, McCulloch, Menard, Nolan, Real, San Saba, Sutton, Throckmorton, Travis, Uvalde and Val Verde, a White House news release said.

"I am proud of the leadership and engagement that local and state officials exhibited throughout this process, and I look forward to rebuilding together," U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Austin, said in an announcement.

The disaster money can be used to cover 75 percent of the costs of debris removal and emergency measures to save lives and protect property and public health. Funding also can be used for replacing or repairing roads, bridges, schools, recreational areas and other public property.

The procedure for applying for federal money will be explained in a series of briefings that will be announced at a later date.

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