Posted on April 6, 2017
By Harvey Rice, Houston Chronicle
Texas’ first plan for lessening damage from the next destructive hurricane calls for hundreds of millions of dollars in projects along the Texas coast, including turning a once-controversial housing project on Galveston Island into a nature preserve.
The General Land Office recently issued its Texas Coastal Resiliency Master Plan, which calls for taking actions that would ease the impact of a storm on the coastal economy and combat effects of erosion on the coast and bays. The plan does not deal with proposals like the coastal barrier, or Ike Dike, a storm-surge protection structure that has been recommended by a recent study and endorsed by Land Commissioner George P. Bush. Nor does it deal with the excruciatingly slow pace of rebuilding housing after a storm, the subject of a bill that the Legislature is expected to consider this session.
The plan recommends projects that would soften the blow of the next hurricane as well as boost industries that depend on the coastal environment, like shrimp, oyster and other commercial fishing. The plan covers the entire Texas Gulf Coast, recommending some of the largest projects for the Houston region.
There is no guarantee that any of the proposals will ever be built if support is lacking locally or from the Legislature.
The idea for Texas’ first Resiliency Master Plan had been kicking around since at least 2012, and Bush made it a top priority after he took office in 2015, said David Green, Land Office deputy director of coastal resources.
The Land Office found 238 worthy projects, but only the 63 highest priority projects were included in the report.
In his preface to the plan, Bush said 6.5 million people with wages of $37 billion live along the Gulf Coast. “This growing population and economic activity puts our state and country at greater risk of storm surge damage and places increasing pressure on our natural barrier systems,” Bush wrote.
The idea is that natural barriers like sand dunes and marshes slow storm surges and reduce damage, while creating places where shrimp, fish and other wildlife thrive, thereby sustaining the coastal fishing economy and making the coast more attractive to tourists.
Restore and conserve
To achieve that end, the master plan recommended projects to restore and conserve beaches and dunes, wetlands and uplands; stabilize bay shores and the banks of the Texas Gulf Intracoastal Waterway; and develop policies and legislation that encourage those goals.
The approach is supported by groups like the Houston Audubon Society. “There is increasing scientific evidence that coastal habitats such as bird rookery islands, reefs, wetlands and dunes lessen and absorb impacts of disturbances,” said John Bartos, society president. “Protecting, restoring and enhancing these natural assets offer cost-effective options for helping to reduce risks.”
In the Houston region, the plan recommends 25 projects. One of the more notable ones is a plan to turn into a nature preserve about 840 acres that were once part of the largest development project ever proposed on Galveston Island. Fierce opposition to the proposal arose after Marquette Galveston Investment Ltd., based in Illinois, purchased 1,053 acres on the island for $36 million in 2006.
Hurricane Ike struck the island in 2008, followed a few days later by a national economic meltdown, turning the development proposal into a fiasco. The Texas School Land Board, which is administered by the Land Office, purchased the land for $10 million in 2011. Since then the environmental group Artist Boat has purchased 213 acres from the Land Board to form the Settegast Coastal Heritage Preserve. The master plan proposal envisions raising between $3 million and $10 million to purchase the remaining acreage for the preserve.
Projects by region
The Texas Coastal Resiliency Master Plan divides the coastal counties into four regions, representing 25 percent of the state population. The cost of the proposed improvements will fall within a range based on estimates by the Land Office.
Region 1: Harris, Brazoria, Galveston, Chambers, Jefferson and Orange.
25 projects, $510 million to $1.1 billion
Region 2: Calhoun, Jackson, Matagorda and Victoria.
12 projects, $145.5 million to $304.5 million
Region 3: Aransas Kleberg, Nueces, Refugio and San Patricio.
16 projects, $29 million to $97 million
Region 4: Cameron, Kenedy and Willacy.
6 projects, $51.5 million to $125 million
Houston area projects
Bolivar Peninsula Beach & Dune Restoration, $50 million-$95 million
Follets Island Nourishment and Erosion Control, $60 million-115 million
McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge Shoreline Restoration, $100 million-$190 million
Galveston Island West of Seawall to 8 Mile Road Beach Nourishment, $2 million-$12 million
Old River Cove Marsh Restoration, $10 million-$30 million
Gordy Marsh Restoration & Shoreline Protection, $15 million-$35 million
Coastal Heritage Preserve, $3 million-$10 million
Sweetwater Preserve Expansion, $1 million-$3 million
Pierce Marsh Living Shoreline, $25 million-$45 million
IH-45 Causeway Marsh Restoration, $5 million-$18 million
Moses Lake Wetlands Restoration, $1 million-$3.5 million
Follets Island Marsh Restoration, $30 million-$50 million
Bessie Heights Marsh Restoration, $5 million-$25 million
Follets Island Conservation Initiative, $4.5 million-$15 million
Old River Cove Barrier Island Restoration, $5 million-$15 million
Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge Living Shoreline, $50 million-$105 million
Willow Lake Shoreline Stabilization, $3 million-$8 million
Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge GIWW Shoreline Protection, $20 million-35 million
North Pleasure Island Barrier Island Restoration, $1.5 million-$5 million
Sabine-Neches Waterway Barrier Island Habitat Restoration, $500,000-$1.5 million
Salt Bayou Siphons, $3 million-$5 million
Sabine Ranch Habitat Protection, $65 million-$120 million
Galveston Bay Oyster Reef Planning & Restoration, $5 million-$60 million
Galveston Bay Rookery Island Restoration, $45 million-$80 million
Dickinson Bay Rookery Island Restoration, $510 million-$1.1 Billion
‘What Texas needs’
Another recommendation is spending $5 million to $60 million to restore oyster reefs in Galveston Bay that were severely damaged by Hurricane Ike. The study notes that the oyster harvest is the third most valuable among commercial fisheries in Texas and that 70 percent of the oysters come from Galveston Bay.
“That’s exactly what Texas needs,” said Lisa Halili, part owner of Prestige Oysters, the largest oyster company in Texas. Because oysters filter the water, “there would be more shrimp, oysters, more crabs, everything,” Halili said.
Other projects include dune restoration along 25 miles of the Bolivar Peninsula, 1 mile of beach west of the Galveston seawall, and 14 miles of beach on Follets Island in Brazoria County from Surfside to the Treasure Island community at San Luis Pass. The total cost of the beach projects would be between $112 million and $222 million.
The plan recommends that the projects be completed incrementally over time because of the cost.
There is no timeline for completing the 63 high-priority projects and not all of the money would necessarily come from the Land Office, said Green, the Land Office deputy director.
Some projects, like the restoration of the beach at McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge in Jefferson County, are already underway, Green said.
Green said the $1.6 million study, which took about 18 months to complete, is a document that can change as circumstances warrant. It was created in cooperation with at least 75 private and public organizations.
Bob Stokes, Galveston Bay Foundation president, said the plan brings to the attention of Texas legislators the importance of the Gulf Coast.
“Simply identifying the need and showing all these projects is a positive step because it helps educate the Legislature about real needs,” Stokes said.
Source: Houston Chronicle
