Posted on June 29, 2021
Oversees Coastal Texas Study, Likely Largest Civil Works Project in U.S. History
HOUSTON – Texas Governor Greg Abbott has named Port Houston Executive Director Roger Guenther to the Gulf Coast Protection District (GCPD) Board of Directors. The Texas State Legislature created the Gulf Coast Protection District to “operate and leverage funding to build the unique flood control and surge protection needs for coastal communities.”
According to a news release issued by the Texas Governor’s Office, when completed, the Coastal Texas study will be the largest civil works project in US history. It has been described to have the same impact as the Galveston Coast seawall. This system will be designed to protect the Texas coast and the national economy, and millions of Texans for generations to come.
According to the release, Texas ports handle 65 percent of all US cargo and produce the largest military jet and diesel fuel volume. The creation of this District provides the opportunity to leverage almost $30 billion federal dollars to protect the ports of Beaumont, Harris County, and Galveston from storm surges. Port Houston is the largest port in Texas and on the Gulf Coast.
“Strengthening our coastal regions and ports is vital not only to Texas, but to the entire nation,” said Governor Abbott. “This project will go down in history as one of the most significant measures to protect Coastal Texas, its citizens and the economic activities this region provides.”
“I thank Gov. Abbott for appointing me to serve on the Gulf Coast Protection District,” Guenther said. “The work we conduct as part of this district is about protecting lives and the Texas economy, and I am honored to serve.”
The Office of the Texas Governor news release can be found here.
Roger Guenther bio here: https://porthouston.com/leadership/executive-administration/
About Port Houston
For more than 100 years, Port Houston has owned and operated the public wharves and terminals along the Houston Ship
Channel, including the area’s largest breakbulk facility and two of the most efficient and fastest-growing container terminals in
the country. Port Houston is the advocate and a strategic leader for the Channel. The Houston Ship Channel complex and its more than 200 public and private terminals, collectively known as the Port of Houston, is the nation’s largest port for waterborne tonnage and an essential economic engine for the Houston region, the state of Texas, and the U.S. The Port of Houston supports the creation of nearly 1.35 million jobs in Texas and 3.2 million jobs nationwide, and economic activity totaling $339 billion in Texas – 20.6 percent of Texas’ total gross domestic product (GDP) – and $801.9 billion in economic impact across the nation.
For more information, visit the website at www.PortHouston.com.
CONTACT:
Lisa Ashley, Director, Media Relations
Office: 713-670-2644; Mobile: 832-247-8179
E-mail: lashley@porthouston.com
