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FCO Message Archive

FCO Brad Harris: Debris Cleanup is an Important Milestone in the Recovery Effort (Aug. 4, 2009)

For the hundreds of Southeast Texas communities that were battered by Hurricane Ike, cleaning up and disposing of mountains of debris has been one of the most difficult and time-consuming challenges. Through hard work and persistence, though, debris removal is finally nearing completion. Moreover, a few communities have found some creative ways to recycle their debris.

Debris Cleanup Since the cleanup effort began, more than 23.6 million cubic yards of debris have been cleared just from public streets and other rights of way. That is the capacity of nearly one and a half million average-size dump trucks. Lined up end to end, the trucks would stretch the distance from Los Angeles to New York -- more than two and a half times. What's more, the total debris collected does not include thousands of cubic yards removed from private property, the Intracoastal Waterway and ship channels, the Galveston Bay System, area lakes and other bodies of water.

Debris Cleanup FEMA understands the importance of funding debris removal, not only because it's vital to make roadways and waterways safe, and to clear paths for emergency vehicles and reconstruction equipment, but also because getting rid of debris represents recovery and progress to the residents of affected communities.

To date, FEMA Public Assistance (PA) grants to reimburse the state of Texas and local governments for debris removal alone total more than $570 million. We are contributing 100 percent of the cost of eligible debris removal in the counties designated for PA under the presidential disaster declaration.

When I say "eligible" debris removal, I mean that federal regulations allow FEMA to reimburse PA applicants for the cost of removing debris that meets certain criteria. First, the debris must be the direct result of the disaster. For instance, we can reimburse applicants to remove boats that sunk during Hurricane Ike, but not those that have been under water for years. Also, the removal costs cannot already be covered by insurance. Finally, the removal must eliminate immediate threats to lives, public health and safety, threats of additional damage, or it must ensure the economic recovery of the affected communities to the benefit of the communities at large.

Most often, eligible debris includes any hazardous materials as well as debris found on public rights of way and in public waters. We usually cannot reimburse applicants to remove debris on private property or in areas such as agricultural or undeveloped lands where the debris poses no immediate threat to public health or safety, improved property or economic recovery. Because the debris on private property did create a public health or safety risk in certain areas of Galveston, Chambers and Jefferson counties, as well as the city of Kemah, however, FEMA agreed to reimburse for eligible private property debris removal in those areas. That work is nearly 90 percent complete.

Overall, debris cleanup on rights of way throughout the disaster area is more than 99 percent complete. Final sweep-up operations are taking place in just a few counties, including Galveston, Jefferson and Chambers. Meanwhile, the Texas General Land Office (GLO), which is in charge of debris removal throughout the Galveston Bay System and Sabine Lake, reports that its work is more than 95 percent complete. The GLO says debris cleanup from Galveston Bay, Sabine Lake, East Bay and West Bay is substantially finished and it expects the remaining waters to be cleared by the end of this month.

Additionally, within weeks of the disaster the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cleared federally maintained navigable waterways such as the Intracoastal Waterway and the area ship channels, while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency oversaw the removal of hazardous materials from areas devastated by the saltwater storm surge.

Some communities hit hard by Ike took some innovative action with their debris, saving money and resources, and keeping large quantities of debris from ending up in landfills.

Debris Cleanup On Bolivar Peninsula, for example, Galveston County authorities entered into an agreement with the disaster recovery and debris management company CrowderGulf to crush and recycle tons of concrete debris from roads and home slabs. To date, the company has provided Galveston County with about 150,000 cubic yards of concrete aggregate from the project, saving thousands of dollars in transportation and landfill costs. Because FEMA is reimbursing local governments for the full cost of eligible debris cleanup, the program has saved federal taxpayers these costs. What's more, the county is conserving resources by reusing the crushed concrete to rebuild numerous roads that were washed out by Hurricane Ike. In addition, CrowderGulf has proved the county about 65,000 cubic yards of recycled fill dirt and sand mix that is being used as a base for washed out roads.

The city of Houston held a "Recycle Ike" contest last fall and awarded monetary prizes for the best ideas on how to recycle debris from the hurricane. A seven-person team of students, professors and researchers from Rice University won first prize and $10,000 for their concept to turn tree debris into carbon-sequestering "biomass charcoal," which can be used to enrich soil. Houston also began recycling thousands of cubic yards of debris from downed trees early on in the recovery effort, entering into contracts with local companies to create mulch, and gardening and landscaping compost from some of the vegetative debris.

Angelina County, taking advantage of a FEMA pilot program that allowed participants to keep the profits from their debris-recycling programs, sold vegetative debris from downed trees to a local biofuel producer.

Although the debris left in Ike's wake is getting cleared away, some new debris is being created with the removal of trees killed by saltwater flooding in the city of Galveston. The trees and limbs that are being cut down are removed immediately and then taken to a staging area for grinding and mulching. We expect this project to last into early 2010.

The local jurisdictions determined that the dead or dying trees in the city of Galveston and Galveston County pose a public safety risk. FEMA agreed, making their removal eligible for 100 percent federal reimbursements. That project is complete on Bolivar Peninsula and is under way in the city. Meanwhile, FEMA debris specialists are meeting with authorities in the cities of Port Arthur, Kemah, Clear Lake Shores, as well as Jefferson County and the University of Texas Medical Branch on their requests for FEMA reimbursements for tree removal.

Although FEMA reimburses for eligible debris removal costs, we do not perform the removal work. That usually falls to the state and local jurisdictions. Those jurisdictions sign contracts with debris removal firms, and then work with FEMA to prepare their Project Worksheets documenting the expenses. FEMA reviews the request and determines what work is eligible, then obligates the funds to the state. When applicants incur costs, they submit their invoices to the state for reimbursement.

Getting rid of downed trees and limbs; vehicles, boats and barges; destroyed homes and other buildings as well as their contents; sand, dirt and mud; and hazardous materials and other debris has been one of the biggest tasks in the Hurricane Ike recovery effort. The end of the cleanup operations will be an important milestone for all of the people and communities hit by the storm.  

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Crisis Counseling Program is Helping Hurricane Ike Survivors (July 27, 2009)

Hurricane Ike did much more than destroy homes, businesses and public infrastructure; it also took lives and left thousands of Texans traumatized. Now that hurricane season is upon us once again, many of Ike's survivors are finding it especially hard to cope with their sense of loss and anxieties.

We at FEMA strongly believe that dealing with the emotional impact of Hurricane Ike is one of the keys to recovery. Moreover, help is still available -- and it is free of charge.

Since the early days of the disaster, a FEMA-funded, state-run program has provided crisis counseling services to Texans affected by the hurricane. FEMA funds these programs following major disasters because we know that counseling helps people understand that their emotional reactions to the crisis, such as grief, frustration, anger and fear, are normal. We also know that with support and the right coping skills most disaster survivors can pick up the pieces and go on with their lives.

With nearly $8.5 million in approved FEMA grants, the Texas Department of State Health Services established and launched the Texas P.R.I.D.E. Crisis Counseling Program (CCP). The program, whose acronym stands for People Recovering In-Spite of Devastating Events, has contracted with five mental health/mental retardation centers to assist survivors in 23 counties affected by the hurricane.

What I like about the program is it is extremely proactive and creative. Rather than sitting in offices waiting for survivors to appear, the counselors are taking their services directly to those who need help. They have visited schools, libraries, daycare centers, clubs, churches, parks, community centers, YMCAs and other places where people gather, all in an effort to help Texans work past the trauma of Ike.

For instance, the Texas P.R.I.D.E. CCP team from the Gulf Coast Center began holding group activities with students on Bolivar Peninsula and High Island shortly after the schools reopened after the hurricane. By involving the children in various activities the teams encouraged the students, some as young as kindergartners, to tell their stories and express their fears.

The team also worked with seventh-grade students over several weeks to create a large mosaic art piece of the Bolivar Lighthouse, which has remained standing through several hurricanes, including Ike. The project gave the students the opportunity to re-create a symbol of endurance and strength, while the act of breaking the tiles helped them release the anger and pain that Ike caused.

The Spindletop Texas P.R.I.D.E. team has held weekly story-time events with children as young as 4 years at libraries and daycare centers in the area. Through group activities such as reading the story of "Clifford and the Big Storm" or watching the Sesame Street video "A Terrible Thing Happened," the preschoolers were encouraged to express their feelings about the disaster. The children then decorated paper umbrellas to symbolize their readiness for the next storm.

Just recently the Harris County Texas P.R.I.D.E. team worked with 6- to 12-year-olds at Houston's Stude Community Center. By creating poems, dances, songs and skits, the students were able to share their experiences and express their emotions about Hurricane Ike.

A common thread in many of these sessions is hurricane awareness, the important message being that those who are ready for a hurricane or other natural hazard are in a much better position, both mentally and physically, to cope with the event.

The P.R.I.D.E program, however, is not dedicated solely to the emotional recovery of the young, nor does it involve only group activities. Counselors also have worked in groups and individually with many young adults and senior citizens who were impacted by Hurricane Ike.

In some cases, helping the survivors get their physical needs met is key to reducing their stress levels. As residents of the affected communities, CCP team members are familiar with resources available in their areas and are helping survivors connect with those that can provide the right assistance. For example, the Tri-County Texas P.R.I.D.E. CCP team helped connect one 70-year-old survivor with Liberty County's Long-Term Recovery Committee, which in turn provided assistance on her home repairs. Crisis counselors in Galveston County not only reconnected a 68-year-old San Leon survivor with her support system after the storm, they also visited her many times while she stayed first in a hotel and then in a FEMA-provided manufactured home.

FEMA understands that Hurricane Ike has taken a tremendous toll on survivors, and we encourage Texans who still are dealing with mental or emotional trauma to take advantage of the free crisis counseling services. You need only be a resident of one of the 34 Texas counties designated for federal aid under FEMA's Individual Assistance program.

Those counties are Angelina, Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Cherokee, Fort Bend, Galveston, Gregg, Grimes, Hardin, Harris, Harrison, Houston, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Madison, Matagorda, Montgomery, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Polk, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Smith, Trinity, Tyler, Walker, Waller and Washington.

For information on the program in specific counties, contact the following Texas P.R.I.D.E. centers:

Residents in other counties should call 2-1-1, the central point of contact for health and human services throughout Texas.

Everyone recovers from a disaster in their own way and in their own time, but talking to someone may help. As Ike survivors work to rebuild their homes and communities, it is equally important that they re-establish their mental and emotional well being. Being prepared for this hurricane season is one way. Another excellent way is to seek out the counseling services the Texas P.R.I.D.E. Crisis Counseling Program is offering.

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FEMA-Funded Disaster Case Management Pilot Program is Up and Running (July 20, 2009)

One of the ongoing challenges in the Hurricane Ike recovery effort is finding ways to help thousands of Texans affected by the disaster who still need help getting back on their feet. This is not a unique situation, as state, tribal and local governments, often working with local volunteer groups and social services agencies, frequently struggle over how best to meet their citizens' continuing disaster-related needs.

If you are one of the fortunate Americans who have never experienced a major natural disaster, or even a personal one such as a house fire, it may be hard to understand why, more than 10 months after Ike made landfall, some Ike survivors still are working at getting their lives back together. If you'll take a moment to think about the trauma of suddenly losing your home and all its contents, your family photographs and heirlooms, your clothing and personal items, all your children's things, and maybe even your car, your job and your community, you might begin to see why recovery is such an arduous process. Even for those who receive insurance payments or government assistance, just figuring out where to begin and who to trust can be extremely difficult and stressful.

In an effort to address this challenge on a national level, FEMA is piloting a Disaster Case Management program. Earlier this year, Texas became the third state, after Louisiana and Mississippi, to receive a major FEMA grant to develop a state-specific case management program.

Our goal is to learn the practices that worked best in these states in order to develop a model for a national program to help disaster survivors who have unmet needs. The program, then, will serve to enhance the response to emergencies at all levels of government by helping to connect disaster survivors to a full array of available support, including housing as well as human, social, employment, legal, mental health and medical services.

In Texas, a $58.2 million grant went to the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to create a program to provide case management services free of charge to Texans who still need help recovering from Hurricane Ike and who are not receiving similar services under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Disaster Housing Assistance Program for Hurricane Ike (DHAP-Ike). The 18-month pilot program aims to assist nearly 30,000 Texans living in the 34 counties designated for disaster aid under FEMA's Individual Assistance program.

I am pleased to say the state's program is now up and running. Nearly 500 professional case managers have been trained through the program. The training, which is being provided by Lutheran Social Services Disaster Recovery (LSSDR) and the United Methodist Committee on Relief, will continue through August.

HHSC contracted with three nonprofit organizations to deliver the services in certain geographical areas. Neighborhood Center Inc. (NCI) will assist 15,000 families in Harris County. LSSDR will assist 13,000 families in Galveston County and 15 other area counties, and Deep East Texas Council of Governments (DETCOG) will serve 1,400 families in 17 counties in East Texas and Deep East Texas.

Each of the three organizations has created its own program and is already conducting outreach and providing case management services to citizens in need. This past weekend NCI's program, Stay Connected Texas, assisted several dozen Texans during a two-day Ike Recovery Fair at the United Way office in Baytown. Stay Connected Texas is planning additional recovery fairs July 24 and 25 in La Porte and the following weekend in Pasadena. For additional information about the fairs, visit the program's Web site at www.stayconnectedtexas.org or call 713-491-6154.

All of these organizations have been provided a list of Texans in their area who might still require help, and they have begun contacting those people. They also are getting the word out via the media and their Web sites. For more information about DETCOG's program, click on www.detcog.org or call 800-256-6848. LSSDR's case management program, Recovery for Ike Survivors Enterprise (RISE), can be reached at 888-453-7473. Its Web site is www.texasrise.org.

If you or someone you know is not being assisted under DHAP-Ike but is still struggling to get back to normalcy, I urge you to contact the case management program for your county. Texans requiring assistance do not have to be FEMA applicants in the Ike disaster, but they do have to live in one of the 34 designated counties and they must have suffered hurricane damage or loss. The program does not provide funds directly to survivors, but rather offers personal assistance to connect them with the resources they require to get their needs met.

Full recovery from a disaster the size of Ike doesn't come easily or quickly. We are pleased to have partnered with the state and with the social services groups that are contributing to this effort to perhaps hasten the recovery process for thousands of Texans.

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FEMA Helps Build Disaster-Resistant Communities (July 13, 2009)

Someday I'd like to turn on the evening news and hear about "the disaster that never happened." A potent hurricane crashed ashore over a populated area, but no lives were lost and no homes were seriously damaged. A major earthquake occurred, but no bridges or buildings collapsed and nobody lost power. A river overflowed its banks, but no one was injured and no homes were swept away.

Such a news story would lack the powerful, and painful, images of devastation we see on TV following the natural disasters that occur pretty regularly these days. Then again, the residents of the community that escaped disaster probably wouldn't mind, nor would the taxpayers who help fund cleanup and repairs after many of these events.

There is nothing we can do to stop Mother Nature. Hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and other natural events will occur. What we can do is stop adding the word "disaster" when we describe those events. The key is building disaster-resistant communities, ones that aren't torn apart when Mother Nature strikes hard.

This is not a novel concept. In fact, here on the Gulf Coast we have an excellent example of a major mitigation measure that has worked for more than a century: Galveston's 17-foot-high concrete seawall, built to make the city more hurricane-resistant following the Great Storm of 1900. Although it couldn't hold back the worst of Ike's ferocious storm surge, and was badly damaged during the hurricane, the seawall kept its area of Galveston from suffering a much worse fate.

In Galveston alone, there are other examples, both historic and modern, of mitigation measures that worked, including the 1907 elevation -- by hand -- of St. Patrick Catholic Church, and the design, elevation and masonry building materials used to build the Kroger's supermarket on Seawall Boulevard in 2000. Both of these structures survived Ike with relatively little damage, thanks to preventative efforts made well ahead of the storm. Stricter building codes enacted since the late 1900s also saved many structures throughout the disaster area.

Two decades ago, when Congress passed the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, commonly called the Stafford Act, our legislators included important provisions for FEMA to fund projects aimed at saving lives and ending the expensive cycle of damage, repair, and repeat damage. In other words, Congress believed it was fiscally responsible to spend taxpayer dollars on a project once, rather than pay for repairs over and over again.

Last week I discussed FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), under which we and our state of Texas partner authorize the expenditure of federal dollars for a wide variety of projects designed to protect lives and property during a severe natural hazard. These projects include elevating homes and other structures, or permanently removing them from flood-prone areas. The HMGP is authorized under Section 404 of the Stafford Act.

Another section of the Stafford Act, Section 406, gives FEMA additional authority to fund projects that will enhance a disaster-damaged facility's ability to resist similar damage in the future.

The differences between Section 404 (HMGP) and Section 406 are:

There are cases in which both 404 and 406 funding can be applied to the same project. For instance, 406 funds could be applied to the damaged parts of a facility and HMGP funds applied to the undamaged parts.

In addition to the projects funded under the HMGP in the Hurricane Ike disaster, FEMA also is working with applicants to ensure potential mitigation measures receive 406 funding.

For example, we are awarding more than $100,000 in mitigation grants to the University of Texas Medical Center's Ronald McDonald House in Galveston to permanently elevate 11 air conditioning compressors that were destroyed in Ike's flooding and to make the building's seriously damaged elevators disaster resistant.

We also will obligate more than $120,000 in 406 funds to rebuild and reinforce the pier, parking area and other areas of Galveston County's Offatts Bayou Park on 61st Street and Seawall Boulevard. The park, closed since Ike struck, is Galveston Island's only public boat ramp on Galveston Bay, and is a popular location for fishing and SCUBA training.

Galveston County's Freshwater Supply District No. 6, serving the Village of Tiki Island, will receive more than $200,000 to construct elevation platforms for electrical control panels at nine of the district's 11 lift stations. The additional mitigation funding for this project will protect the stations' electrical systems -- and thus allow the district to maintain critical services -- during a future disaster.

Additional projects include concrete electric poles in place of wooden poles at Galveston city parks, surge protection for alarm systems in the Fort Bend Independent School District, tie-downs for above-ground storage tanks and outdoor mechanical equipment at Galveston's Moody Gardens, elevation of electrical systems and air conditioning compressors at Galveston County, UTMB and city of Galveston facilities -- and the list goes on.

We estimate the Hurricane Ike disaster will cost taxpayers about $5 billion, a good portion of the total going to repair homes, schools and universities, city and county office buildings, roads and bridges, hospitals, libraries, parks and recreational areas, water treatment plants and many other such facilities.

It is impossible to make our cities and towns disaster proof. But mitigation funding under Sections 404 and 406 of the Stafford Act is a start to making them stronger and more disaster resistant. The goal is to protect Americans and save taxpayer money on fixing the same things over and over again.

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Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Helps Keep Texans Out of Harm's Way (July 6, 2009)

The coastal village of Surfside Beach sits at the end of the Blue Water Highway west of Galveston. In 2006, town leaders began applying funds from a special FEMA program to buy and clear nine houses from the beachfront. When Hurricane Ike hit last September, the remaining houses along the beach disappeared.
Graphics: Hurricane Ike - Before

The federal funds Surfside Beach used to acquire the homes -- effectively moving nine families from harm’s way -- came from FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), which takes effect following presidentially declared disasters. In the Surfside Beach case, the HMGP funds were made available following the 2005 Hurricane Rita disaster.
Graphic: Hurricane Ike - After Now, in partnership with the state of Texas, FEMA is awarding HMGP grants under the Hurricane Ike disaster. The purpose of the program, which was authorized under Section 404 of the Stafford Act, is to encourage local governments and other eligible entities to launch projects that will reduce or eliminate the loss of life and property due to natural disasters. HMGP funds are available statewide after a presidentially declared disaster; not just for the counties designated for FEMA Public Assistance funding.

 
FEMA pays up to 75 percent of the cost of such projects, and the state and/or local entities pay the remainder. In the Hurricane Ike disaster, FEMA has set aside about $395 million for HMGP grants in Texas.

To be eligible for funding, the projects must provide a long-term solution to a problem. For example, money can be used to elevate flood-prone homes or other structures to eliminate the need for sandbags and pumps when the next flood hits. Grants also can be used for certain flood-control projects; for retrofitting building and facilities to minimize damages from high winds, earthquakes or other natural hazards; and for other mitigation projects.

One of the most popular uses of HMGP funds is the acquisition of property -- what our applicants commonly refer to as “buyouts.” This is how Surfside Beach used some of its HMGP funds. This option allows cities, counties, flood control districts and other applicants to purchase homes and buildings that have been subjected to, or are in danger of, repetitive damage. And the structures don’t have to be located on the Gulf or other bodies of water to be eligible. As I’ve said in the past, 25 to 30 percent of flood damage occurs in areas with low to moderate risk of flooding. 

Once a buyout takes place -- whether the property is demolished or moved to higher ground -- the land can never again be built on. It can be used, for example, as a park or golf driving range, or it can simply be allowed to return to its natural state. The benefits are multiple: residents are taken out of danger, they no longer have to face losing everything when a disaster strikes, and taxpayers are never again asked to spend money to repair these structures.

Acquisitions funded under the HMGP are voluntary -- so no one is obligated to sell their home or property. The photos above, of Surfside Beach before and after Hurricane Ike struck, however, clearly demonstrate the benefits of acquisitions.

One of the former beachfront homes in Surfside Beach belonged to Peggy and Normal Llewellyn, who told FEMA last fall they are happy they decided to take advantage of the town’s buyout option in 2006.

“It was very hard to move off the beachfront,” Peggy said. “We had a lovely house, but we kept getting damages. If we still lived there, we would have lost everything.”

 Graphic: In the Hurricane Ike Disaster, FEMA has set aside about $395 million for HMGP grants in Texas

In the Hurricane Ike disaster, HMGP grants have been awarded so far to Jefferson County and the Harris County Flood Control District to purchase homes that were substantially damaged as a result of Ike. Victoria County and the city of Wichita Falls also are using HMGP grants for buyouts. Jefferson County Drainage District No. 7 is using a grant to increase the pumping capacity of the Alligator Bayou Pump Station by 1 million gallons per minute. Coastal Guardians Outreach is producing hurricane guides for the 2009 hurricane season, to be distributed to every Texas Gulf Coast county and the adjacent inland counties.

Some of the property acquisitions were carried out under the state’s so-called “Fast-Track” program, a narrow category of buyouts intended to get projects approved before residents have spent significant time and money repairing their flood-damaged home.

The state of Texas has received 302 applications for HMGP grants made available as a result of the Ike disaster. Of those, 17 have been sent to FEMA for final approval -- and we have approved seven, including several under the fast-track option. Other applications are in the approval process.

Under the program, the state prioritizes and selects project applications developed and submitted by local jurisdictions. The state then forwards applications consistent with its mitigation planning objectives to FEMA for eligibility review. Although individuals may not apply directly to the state for assistance, local governments may sponsor applications on their behalf.

We ask eligible applicants -- state and local governments, tribal organizations and certain nonprofit organizations -- to consider these five questions before submitting a project for HMGP funding:

 • Does it conform to Texas' Hazard Mitigation Plan?
 • Does it provide a beneficial impact on the disaster area?
 • Does it meet the outlined environmental requirements?
 • Does it solve a problem independently?
 • Is it cost-effective?

Although buyouts can be quite effective, they will not necessarily make a family whole following a disaster like Ike. They do present owners with an opportunity to recoup a large part of their investment that probably has lost some or most of its value due to damage, but they will not compensate individuals and families for their entire emotional and financial loss.

Some Surfside Beach residents planned ahead -- making the hard decision to move away from the coast before Ike struck. The HMGP funds available for the Hurricane Ike disaster will help keep other Texans out of danger in the future.

 

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FEMA Coordinates with Applicants on Public Assistance Projects (June 29, 2009)

When the storm surge from Hurricane Ike hit Galveston last fall, saltwater not only inundated homes, businesses and public buildings, it also seeped into the soil. As a result of the heavy infusion of salt, tens of thousands of Galveston's beloved live oak, sycamore and other trees are now dead or dying. It is a real shame, and a terrible loss to Galvestonians, that many of the city's once-verdant trees are now bare of leaves, despite great efforts to save them through heavy watering.


Because the threat of falling trees and limbs may pose a public health risk, FEMA is coordinating with the city and county of Galveston, local arborists and other governmental agencies on projects to provide federal funds for tree removal.

Meanwhile, FEMA Public Assistance (PA) specialists are working side by side with Texas' General Land Office (GLO) on a multimillion-dollar state project to rebuild and upgrade 6.1 miles of improved Galveston beaches that eroded significantly during the hurricane. This project, stretching from the west end of Seawall Boulevard to Galveston Island State Park, is expected to be the largest beach nourishment project ever constructed in Texas, requiring the placement of more than two million cubic yards of sand.

 Graphic: Galveston Trees


Other FEMA teams are working on requests from Galveston's University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) for further federal assistance for repairs to Ike-damaged infrastructure and equipment, and for measures to mitigate future flood damage, such as elevating air conditioning systems and emergency power generation equipment. UTMB has been awarded more than $105 million in federal grants to date, and we expect the total to rise sharply as we continue working with the university to identify eligible projects.

Galveston's trees, beach nourishment and the work at the sprawling UTMB campus are multifaceted, costly projects. FEMA's role is to see that every dollar these applicants are eligible to receive gets awarded as quickly as possible. At the same time, as stewards of taxpayer money, we must ensure that federal dollars are not misspent. We also are obligated under several federal and state laws to ensure our actions do not adversely impact the environment or harm historical landmarks. Furthermore, we are tasked with determining whether to provide federal funds for measures to mitigate future damage to affected infrastructure.

What I mean is, by authorizing hazard mitigation grants for UTMB, for example, we would be providing funds now to help elevate critical systems so taxpayers are not burdened with having to pay again for repairs following the next flood, and the next. In the beach nourishment project, hazard mitigation funds could go to elevate and grade the beaches to prevent flooding of homes and infrastructure during storms.
 
Graphic: Tree It is our duty, however, to ensure funds are used only for their intended purpose -- that is to help eligible applicants recover from Hurricane Ike and mitigate damage from the next potential disaster. That can be a painstaking process on these large projects because our specialists must determine whether the items on an applicant's list of damages meet federal criteria for replacement, repair and/or mitigation funding. That means we assign project specialists to coordinate with the applicant and other stakeholders to inspect the damaged facility and the listed items, and document the eligible expenses.

Our PA specialists also are often called upon to brainstorm with applicants on how their repair or mitigation projects might best be achieved. Through regular face-to-face discussions, FEMA is helping UTMB, Galveston, the GLO and other applicants avoid some of the pitfalls that may be encountered by those unfamiliar with FEMA regulations for hazard mitigation and other projects. We find that our involvement early on in any project is a definite advantage to both the applicant and FEMA when it comes time to preparing and presenting the final documentation to us for funding approval.

For example, FEMA was invited in early February to attend a daylong conference involving more than 100 people from various UTMB departments as well as engineering and architectural firms to discuss hazard mitigation. Then, from mid-March through early June our specialists met weekly with UTMB to continue brainstorming and to discuss various proposals. The close cooperation continues to the present.

In the case of Galveston's trees, our specialists are walking the city's neighborhoods and public streets with foresters from the Texas Forest Service, the city's chosen experts on the tree-health issue, as the foresters inspect the trees. Ultimately, it is FEMA's job to determine which trees meet the criteria to be removed with federal funds.

Although the final tally isn't in yet, experts are estimating that about 10,000 trees present an immediate threat to public health and safety and are along the public rights of way or are in close proximity to traffic flows. Many thousands more trees on private property could also pose a public safety threat, and thus their removal could be eligible for federal funds.
 
Graphic: Tree

We have followed a similar pattern on Bolivar and other areas of Galveston County, working closely with county authorities to identify dead and dying trees and coordinating with contractors to eliminate the threat. The county's tree-removal project is expected to be complete in just a few weeks.

As on Bolivar, FEMA will not decide which of the trees eligible for removal funding must be taken down in the city of Galveston, nor will we perform the removal work. That is a local decision and we respect the city's right to decide whether to give certain trees a chance to beat the odds and bloom again.
 

Graphic: Tree Debris Cleanup

 Unlike FEMA's Individual Assistance program, which was designed to help individuals and families get back on their feet after a presidentially declared disaster, the Public Assistance program awards grants to assist state and local governments, tribal governments and certain private nonprofit entities. The PA program also encourages protection from future damage by providing the hazard mitigation grants I already mentioned. FEMA is responsible for managing the program, approving grants and providing technical assistance to the state and other applicants.

In the cases I have discussed, the applicants are the city of Galveston, county of Galveston, UTMB and the GLO. FEMA is working closely with each of these applicants or their representatives to finalize what we call "Project Worksheets," the formal, documented request for funds. Large undertakings such as these often require many project worksheets. For instance, the funds awarded to UTMB to date stem from 91 Project Worksheets, and many more are working their way through the system.

Since Hurricane Ike struck Texas' upper Gulf Coast last September, FEMA has obligated more than $1 billion in Public Assistance grants involving more than 9,000 Project Worksheets. Our work is not finished. For example, our PA teams also are working with local governments on major beach nourishment projects on hard-hit Bolivar Peninsula and other areas of Galveston County as well as in Jefferson and Brazoria counties -- and there are many more large projects in the works elsewhere in the Ike-affected area. In each case, cooperation and communication with the applicant and our state and local partners is vital to completing the Project Worksheets and getting federal funds assigned for eligible work.

FEMA is committed to working with coastal and inland communities affected by the storm to help them bring their recovery plans to fruition.

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Flood Insurance Offers Peace of Mind -- and Money to Repair (June 22, 2009)

When the weather is hot and dry, as it has been here in Southeast Texas, one of the last things on most people's mind is flooding. To protect you and your home against future floods, though, the key is to plan now, before a raindrop falls or another tropical storm develops out in the Atlantic.

Hurricane season is upon us - and we all know the devastation some storms have inflicted on Texas and Louisiana over the past few years. In the Hurricane Ike disaster, about 61 percent of flood damages were uninsured. That means tens of thousands of Texans faced uncertainty as to their ability to recover, while those who had flood insurance were already repairing and putting their lives back together.

That includes longtime Galveston resident Dolores King, who told FEMA's Hazard Mitigation specialists earlier this year that she was the only one on her street who had started the rebuilding process. "I'm also one of the few people on this street with flood insurance," she added.

The fact is, most homeowners' insurance policies do not cover flood damage. Let me say that again. The insurance policies of most homeowners do not cover flood damage. FEMA administers the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which makes affordable flood insurance available in communities that adopt and enforce flood-control ordinances. Statewide, 1,162 Texas communities are enrolled in the program. In addition to homes, flood insurance can cover a renter's personal property as well as commercial and farm structures in participating communities.

Since 1978, Texans with flood insurance have received more than $5 billion in loss payments. In the last fiscal year alone, the NFIP paid on 46,507 claims to state policyholders, to the tune of more than $2 billion.

As we work to develop a culture of disaster preparedness in this country -- and thus reduce the increasingly costly burden of disaster response on taxpayers -- persuading Americans to acquire flood insurance is one of the most vital components. That means also persuading those who don't necessarily live near the coast or other bodies of water. In fact, nationwide 25 to 30 percent of all floods occur in low- to moderate-risk areas.

If you don't believe me, perhaps you'll take it from a fellow Texan, insurance agent Reggie Wendell. "There are a lot of homeowners out there who don't even know they're in danger, because they're not in the floodplain and have never investigated their flood risk," he told our Hazard Mitigation team.

According to Wendell, "A good way to determine if your home is at risk is to look around your neighborhood the next time you get a heavy spring or summer rain. If it's hard to get in and out of your subdivision because of high water, or someone stalls out at the corner, and you haven't seen that before, then you may have a flood risk you didn't know about."

I think that's great advice.

My own advice is, don't be lulled into complacency by national news reports of FEMA grants to repair homes in presidentially declared hurricane or flood disasters. The vast majority of flooding, from hurricanes as well as heavy rains, does not warrant a presidential disaster declaration -- so there is no federal government bailout of residents. Without flood insurance, every penny in repair and replacement costs is the responsibility of the affected household or business.

Visit the NFIP Web site at www.floodsmart.gov to learn more about flood insurance and how to obtain it. In many cases you can simply go through your own insurance agent. I urge you to go online or call your agent today, because in some cases there can be a 30-day waiting period before the coverage takes effect. It is vital to plan ahead so you're not caught without insurance if a flood threatens your home or business. Remember, as long as your community participates in the NFIP, you can buy flood insurance regardless of whether your flood risk is high, medium or low.

Nothing can stop a hurricane. Nothing can prevent the pain of losing precious belongings or seeing your home filled with muck and mold from floodwaters. Flood insurance can and does help - not only with repairs, but with peace of mind as well.

I understand why purchasing flood insurance isn't everyone's top priority, especially in these tough economic times. It's difficult to justify spending money on a flood that might never come. But then, I'll bet that's what many people thought before Hurricane Ike.

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Unique Ike Web Site Provides the Latest Recovery Information (June 15, 2009)

One of FEMA's challenges in any disaster -- let alone the massive response and recovery effort for Hurricane Ike -- is providing accurate and timely information to the survivors, our local and state partners, the media and the public in general. In an effort to meet the challenge in the Hurricane Ike disaster, we developed FEMA's first full-scale, disaster-specific Web site.

If you are reading my message this week, you probably are on the Ike-specific Web site at www.fema.gov/ike. The value of this site is it supports FEMA's philosophy of open communications, and it gets the latest recovery news and information directly to those who need it. Moreover, for the first time in the midst of a disaster recovery operation, it allows us to outline in full detail -- and in one place -- the many ways FEMA is helping people and communities get back on their feet.

If local officials or reporters want to know how much federal monetary assistance has been obligated in Galveston County, for example, they can click on the link, Disaster Statistics, and then click on Galveston County on the Texas map. These statistics, which are updated daily, are broken down into categories of federal grants awarded for Individual Assistance (IA) and Public Assistance (PA), as well as the total dollar figure of U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) low-interest disaster loans approved in the county.

The page includes a listing for all 51 counties designated for Public Assistance and/or Individual Assistance funds under the presidential disaster declaration, as well as for the hard-hit University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. The Texas Summary Report button, at the top of the map, links readers to the IA, PA and SBA disasterwide totals in each category.

Awarding federal grants following a disaster, however, is just one component of FEMA's involvement in affected communities. Another important part of our mission is helping to reduce loss of life and property in the future by lessening the impact of disasters on homes, businesses and public buildings. We know that effective mitigation measures, such as elevating homes and utilities and reinforcing roofs, can break the cycle of disaster damage, reconstruction and repeated damage. This Web site gives us one more opportunity to get that information to the general public.

The newly updated Hazard Mitigation page on the Ike site features 14 full-color "Best Practices" brochures and an eight-page "Hurricane Safe" tabloid produced by our mitigation specialists. These publications contain stories about building techniques and other measures homeowners and businesses employed to protect their structures from Ike's onslaught. More important, they contain mitigation advice and tips for others to use as they rebuild their homes and communities, making them stronger and safer. All the publications are in PDF format for easy downloading and printing. Additionally, the Success Stories button provides Best Practices reports from around the country.

Our Web site also offers two dozen short video presentations, or "webisodes," of various aspects of the response and recovery effort, from pre-disaster staging of personnel and supplies, to wet debris cleanup around Tiki Island, to long-term recovery efforts in Texas communities and much more. Many of these are first-person accounts from Ike survivors, local officials or FEMA specialists. I like this format because it allows viewers to get a sense of FEMA's broad range of responsibilities in a user-friendly and entertaining way. These can be found by clicking the Ike Multimedia button.

Those interested in learning more about the federal and state response as Ike approached, in the storm's immediate aftermath and in the few months following landfall can click on the About Ike button in the left column. The article, "Hurricane Ike: From Disaster to Recovery," contains a day-by-day account of the storm's evolution and the government response from Sept. 1, 2008 to Sept. 20, 2008, one week after Ike crashed ashore. It then goes on to describe follow-up response and recovery activities.

There is also the six-month anniversary video and feature article, "Hurricane Ike Six Months Later: Confronting the Challenges -- in Partnership." This illustrated report address 15 of the challenges FEMA and its partners faced in helping Texans and Texas communities recover in the half year following the storm's landfall. The video, produced more than three months ago, includes some impressive "before" and "after" shots showing post-Ike damage and subsequent cleanup and repairs.

Also prominent on the site is a Fast Facts widget with a regularly updated message on Hurricane Ike recovery and other important information. Those wishing to add the widget to their own Web sites can simply click on it and follow the steps. In addition, the Press Releases button connects readers to news releases -- more than 400 of them -- issued from the FEMA/State Joint Field Offices in Austin and now in Texas City since Ike made landfall.

There's also a link to my previous reports addressing various aspects of FEMA's mission in Texas, including our involvement in getting local long-term recovery committees off the ground, our commitment to historic preservation and protecting the environment, the progress on wet debris removal, efforts to ensure taxpayer money is not misused and other topics.

One of the best aspects of the Ike site is its connection to FEMA's main Web site, www.fema.gov. Since our site is hosted by the fema-dot-gov site, our readers have direct access to FEMA news of national interest as well as to the site's vast resources. The buttons across the top of the Ike page: Home, Disaster Information, Plan Ahead, etc. connect readers to the main FEMA Web site.

Although our onsite Web team and other program specialists created the site as a one-stop location for Hurricane Ike-related information, we are continuing to provide news releases, public service announcements, fact sheets and other communiqués to the media and our state and local partners. Of course, we continue to meet directly with state and community leaders as well as affected Texans.

Because the public gets its information in so many different ways today, FEMA is dedicated to utilizing communications tools that go beyond the traditional forms of media. The Ike Web site is an important step in that direction. I am pleased to report it already is becoming a prototype for planned disaster-specific sites in other states.

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Filing Bogus Disaster Claims is Risky Business (June 8, 2009)

Since Hurricane Ike made landfall nearly nine months ago, we at FEMA have witnessed countless acts of generosity and selflessness by people who have volunteered their time to help with cleanup and repairs, or donated money and goods to help others in need. In many ways, Ike brought out the best in people. It seems, however that the disaster also brought out the worst in some people -- those who saw the crisis as an opportunity to make a quick buck.

On May 27, a U.S. District Court sentenced a Houston woman to nearly five years in prison and ordered her to repay more than $48,000 to FEMA for perpetrating fraud during hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike. A few days earlier, a federal grand jury indicted a Port Arthur man on fraud-related charges stemming from the Hurricane Ike disaster. If convicted on all six counts, he faces up to 30 years in prison. Other potential cases are still under investigation by special agents from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

The sheer magnitude of Ike's devastation made it urgent for FEMA to get money into Texans' pockets as quickly as possible after the storm. Indeed, within 30 days of landfall, FEMA had approved more than $218 million in grants for housing and other needs. Today, we have disbursed more than $536 million in housing and other needs grants alone.

At the same time, though, we take our role as a steward of taxpayer dollars very seriously -- and we are vigorously pursuing those who attempt to exploit taxpayers by filing bogus disaster claims. We are equally vigilant for scam artists who seek to take advantage of the disaster survivors themselves by posing as building contractors, inspectors or experts who can help Ike-affected Texans get federal or state assistance.

FEMA has used a number of methods to detect fraud during the Hurricane Ike recovery effort. For instance, we crosscheck information with applicants' insurance companies to avoid duplicate payments. Additionally, for every person who applies for grants through our Individual Assistance program, FEMA conducts field inspections to verify damages and/or losses.

When fraudulent activities are suspected, OIG agents conduct audits and investigations -- and report any potential case to the U.S. Justice Department for prosecution as a felony. Since 1978, this is standard procedure in all federal disaster operations, not just catastrophic disasters like Ike. Those convicted of filing false claims or making false statements face up to five years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.

Although we have these systems in place to help prevent phony claims, we count on the participation of average Texans to help us identify the small percentage of disaster assistance claimants and scam artists who try to cash in on the misfortune of others. In this regard, the National Center for Disaster Fraud, which operates the Disaster Fraud Hotline at 1-866-720-5721, has been one of our best weapons against abuse. In the Hurricane Ike disaster, the hotline has received hundreds of calls, and the OIG has been diligently filtering through them to determine which ones require further investigation.

FEMA is confident that the vast majority of funds we have disbursed in the Ike recovery effort have gone to eligible Texans in need, so this message is not meant to alarm those who have filed legitimate claims. Anyone who believes he or she simply made a mistake when reporting damage, or miscalculated or misrepresented losses, has the opportunity to correct or cancel the claim. They need only call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) -- the same number they called when registering for assistance -- to withdraw or correct the application. It is extremely risky business, a prosecutable offense, to file phony disaster claims.

It also is important for Ike survivors who had actual damage or loss to use their FEMA funds wisely and for their intended purposes. Distributed by check or direct deposit, funds for housing and other needs assistance are meant to help residents meet basic disaster-related needs, replace personal property losses and begin rebuilding their lives. An applicant who uses payments on anything other than what the funds are intended for could become ineligible for future disaster assistance or may have to repay the money. A letter explaining a payment's purpose is sent to applicants who receive a check or direct deposit.

Grant recipients are urged to keep receipts of their disaster spending for three years to verify the money was used to meet disaster-related needs. They are required to sign a declaration and a release certifying all funds will be spent for their intended purposes. A recipient who receives an insurance settlement to cover the same expenses must reimburse FEMA. Random audits may be done to confirm funds were spent properly.

Total federal assistance in the Hurricane Ike recovery program has topped $2.1 billion in grants and low-interest disaster loans. For every dollar disbursed, we have walked a fine line between responding to those who need help and ensuring that taxpayer dollars are not misused.

We still need help, however, if we are to bring every fraud perpetrator to justice. Anyone who knows of someone who has filed false damage claims with FEMA or is aware of other instances of fraud, waste or abuse is urged to contact the Disaster Fraud Hotline. The line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Complaints may be made anonymously or the caller may request confidentiality.

There are several ways to report concerns:

FEMA and other federal, state and local agencies are working hard to see that taxpayer dollars are not misspent on the Hurricane Ike disaster. Those who report abuse are helping to ensure assistance funds go to Ike survivors who truly are in need.

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Wet Debris Cleanup is a Massive Undertaking in Texas (June 1, 2009)

Out near Goat Island off of Bolivar Peninsula, a 70-foot shrimp boat that capsized during Hurricane Ike remains embedded in the silt and mud, its steel hull protruding from the waters of East Bay. Attempts to dislodge the boat using a 250-ton crane have failed, and contractors working for Texas' General Land Office (GLO) are now searching for an even bigger crane.

Image: Boat being removed from waterWhen Hurricane Ike hit Texas' upper Gulf Coast last September, countless tons of debris were swept into the Galveston Bay system and area lakes, including a great many boats, barges, vehicles and, of course, the remains of hundreds of homes and businesses as well as their entire contents.

From day one of the Ike disaster, FEMA has been strongly committed to helping Texans get their state cleaned up, and we have demonstrated that commitment with more than $444 million in reimbursements for debris operations alone.

Most of the debris has now been removed from public roads, highways and other rights-of-way in areas affected by Ike, while the GLO tells us the removal of debris from areas eligible for federal assistance in the Gulf of Mexico is complete. Additionally, within weeks of the disaster the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cleared federally maintained navigable channels such as the Intracoastal Waterway, the Galveston Ship Channel and the Houston Ship Channel. The focus now is to complete cleanup operations in the bays and lakes along the upper Gulf Coast.

FEMA calls any type of debris located in or under water "wet debris." In most cases, finding this kind of debris -- not to mention removing it -- is a huge undertaking. To aid in the process, the GLO's contractors are using side-scan sonar to map submerged debris throughout the Galveston Bay system as well as in Clear Lake and as far up the coast as Sabine Lake. This technology, which was employed, for example, to track wreckage from the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003 and to locate submerged debris following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, allows the technicians to search large areas more expeditiously than they could with divers alone, while not putting divers at unnecessary risk.

When the mapping job is complete, the contractors will have scanned more than 357,000 acres of submerged land in Galveston Bay, Trinity Bay, East Bay and West Bay, as well as the two large lakes. The work is nearly 85 percent complete, and 55 percent of the wet debris that has been identified has already been removed from the bays and lakes.

As with debris removal on dry land, the state is driving the boat, so to speak, on wet debris removal. FEMA's roles are to monitor the operations to ensure taxpayer money is spent on work eligible for federal funding, and to make timely reimbursements to the state for the costs.

Image: Debris removed from bay For example, a few weeks ago we awarded a nearly $17 million grant as an initial payment for the state's wet debris cleanup. When all the state's documented requests for payment are in, we anticipate federal reimbursements for wet debris removal alone will run into the tens of millions of dollars.

To help move the process along, FEMA's debris specialists are working closely with the GLO, which has jurisdictional authority over the state's submerged lands and thus is the primary applicant for FEMA Public Assistance (PA) grants for wet debris cleanup.

It is important to understand that FEMA does not fund all debris removal operations, nor will we pay to remove all the wet debris from the bay system and the lakes. For the work to be eligible for PA awards, it must eliminate an immediate threat to lives, public health and safety; or eliminate immediate threats of significant damage to improved public or private property. It also must have been created by Hurricane Ike.

Debris removal from private property, including canals and other waterways, generally is not eligible for FEMA funding because such work is the responsibility of the individual property owner. However, in the Ike disaster FEMA has awarded grants for cleaning canals in some Galveston County communities because the quantity of debris posed a threat to public health and safety.

FEMA understands Galveston Bay's importance -- economically, recreationally and ecologically -- to the people and communities of the upper Gulf Coast. We strongly support the state's efforts to get these treasured waters and the area lakes free of Ike-related debris.

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Help FEMA Help You -- Prepare Now for Hurricane Season (May 26, 2009)

"The Boy Who Cried Wolf" is a fable about a bored shepherd boy who amused himself by calling out "Wolf!" and causing villagers to rush to his rescue needlessly. After the boy raised this false alarm a couple of times, the villagers no longer came to his aid. Then, when a real wolf showed up, disaster ensued.

Perhaps this is why I have spent most of my career in emergency management, but I never understood why, after the first response to the boy's cries for help, the villagers didn't make sure he had a weapon to protect himself and his flock.

Although the "wolf" -- a hurricane, flood, tornado or other hazard -- might never appear at your door, we at FEMA want you to have the weapons you need to ensure you and your own flock are safe.

In fact, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and new FEMA Administrator W. Craig Fugate aim to create a culture of preparedness in this country. They, and those of us helping Texans recovery from Hurricane Ike, strongly believe it is the responsibility of each and every American to be ready for a disaster.

Next week is the start of the June 1-Nov. 30 hurricane season. This week is National Hurricane Preparedness Week, the time to get ready -- just in case. FEMA is here to help.

In Texas, hurricanes are the greatest weather threat. It is important to know, however, that there are several forms of hurricane hazards: high winds, storm surge, flooding and even tornadoes. So even if you don't live on the coast, you and your family can suffer the effects of a hurricane. That means everyone should prepare well in advance. Don't wait until a hurricane is bearing down on the Gulf Coast before you take the first steps toward protecting yourself and your family, and keeping your property losses to a minimum.

Among the steps you can take now are:

More detailed information on preparing for hurricanes and other hazards is available at your fingertips on several Web sites. For starters, you can click on the Department of Homeland Security's site at www.ready.gov. I can also recommend the National Hurricane Center's Hurricane Preparedness Web site at www.hurricanes.gov/prepare.

Texans who want step-by-step assistance can register with the Texas Department of State Health Services at www.texasprepares.org. The site walks you through the process of preparing for a disaster, and includes strategies for families, preparation checklists, and points to consider for special needs cases such as the disabled, the elderly and pets.

My question to you is this: Should a disaster strike, do you really want to be in crisis mode, frantic about where your loved ones are, about where to go and what to take, and concerned about what will happen to your home and property?

Together, we can develop a culture of emergency preparedness in this country. Help FEMA help you keep the wolves at bay -- begin getting ready today. Hurricane season starts Monday.

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Sea Turtle Nesting Grounds and Other Environmental Concerns (May 18, 2009)

Although Hurricane Ike was officially a Category 2 hurricane, its high storm surge -- upward of 17 feet in some areas -- was equivalent to that of a Category 4 storm. As a result of the surge and back-surge, as well as intense wave action and high wind speeds along the upper Gulf Coast, severe erosion occurred, literally sweeping out to sea miles and miles of sand and shoreline.

Graphic: Sea TurtleAffected by the devastation were nesting grounds of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle, the most critically endangered species of sea turtle, at such places as Galveston Island, Bolivar Peninsula and the Surfside Beach area of Brazoria County. Ike also affected the important Texas habitats of the piping plover, a migratory shorebird that winters along the coast. This bird is on the list of "threatened" species in this area.

I have discussed FEMA's commitment to helping Texans and Texas communities recover from the disaster. This week I want to address our role as it relates to the natural environment and its creatures. In the Ike recovery effort, one of our many environmental concerns is the plants and animals protected under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).

In all, more than two dozen threatened and endangered species have been identified as potentially occurring within the disaster-designated counties or just off the coast, including the green sea turtle and the loggerhead sea turtle, the red-cockaded woodpecker, the whooping crane, the West Indian manatee and the Texas prairie dawn, one of the state's smallest sunflowers.

One of our goals in the Hurricane Ike recovery effort is to avoid or minimize adverse impacts on the environment when we approve projects for federal funds or take any other action that might adversely affect our natural surroundings. More specifically, it is our duty under the ESA to avoid spending taxpayer dollars on rebuilding and other recovery projects that might jeopardize the existence of endangered or threatened species, or that might destroy or harm critical habitats.

We take these obligations very seriously and have implemented plans to ensure our actions do not cause additional damage to the diverse ecosystems of the upper Gulf Coast area.

Link: Loggerhead For example, FEMA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and our other state and federal partners have issued guidance for the collection from Texas' coastal marshes of drums, cylinders and the like that contain oil, corrosive liquids or other hazardous materials (HAZMAT) that pose a threat to the public and the environment. The goal of the recovery activity is to remove the HAZMAT threat from sensitive ecological habitats, including the abundant oyster beds in the affected areas, without causing environmental injury greater than that posed by the HAZMAT itself. Similarly, we have issued guidance on dredging operations in waterways, informing applicants how they can avoid adversely affecting wetlands or other waters.

In every major disaster FEMA brings in a team of environmental specialists who work with applicants in all of our program areas, including those requesting Mitigation and/or Public Assistance (PA) funding, to ensure their projects adhere to local, state and federal environmental-protection laws. In the Hurricane Ike disaster, these specialists also are coordinating with other federal, state and local agencies to assess the storm's environmental impact and the potential impact of any repair or rebuilding project. Among their many assignments is to identify the threatened and endangered species in the Ike-affected areas and to determine which ones could be affected by Ike recovery actions.

According to their assessment, the projects proposed for PA funding have the most potential to impact the piping plover habitat, as well as the Kemp's ridley, loggerhead and green sea turtles. For those species, the specialists have prepared extensive reports on the mitigation measures that can be taken to best avoid negative consequences on these creatures.

It is important to understand that FEMA does not provide funds to rebuild damaged or destroyed habitats that existed on undeveloped land. Our mission is to protect lives and property, and to help Texans recover from the storm, and rebuild stronger, safer communities. Our grants are made with those goals in mind.

Included in our PA program, however, are grants to repair public infrastructure as well as recreational facilities operated by the state, by local governments and by other entities that qualify under the program. In this disaster, that means we are funding repairs to seaside facilities and to "improved beaches" (broadly, those that were designed and constructed by the placement of sand, and that have been maintained).

For instance, we are studying several "beach nourishment" (sand replacement) projects in Galveston and other counties along the upper Gulf Coast. On Galveston Island alone, the Texas General Land Office (GLO) has submitted formal requests, what we call "Project Worksheets," for FEMA Public Assistance funds to help replace hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of sand as well as man-made sand dunes along portions of a six-mile stretch of improved beach.

In addition to restoring recreational areas for many Texans, some of these beach nourishment projects could have the added bonus of increasing the sea turtles' nesting habitats - though care must be taken to avoid any adverse effects.

Graphic: BirdFEMA environmental specialists are working closely with the GLO, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other state and local entities to ensure that these multimillion-dollar projects do not further threaten the nesting grounds of the Kemp's ridley and other sea turtles, and the feeding grounds of the piping plover. They are looking at such things as the quality of sand that will be brought in, limits on the use and placement of heavy equipment and the timing of the work to be done.

Our environmental specialists also are providing their expertise on dozens of other projects, some involving damaged public facilities along the coast.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the overarching law we adhere to, though in the case of the sea turtles and the plover, the Endangered Species Act is vital. But we also have a responsibility to uphold regulations under the Clean Water Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Coastal Barriers Resources Act and several other environmental protection laws. Although NEPA provides a process for FEMA to follow when our actions may affect the environment, these additional laws provide specific restrictions and environmental protections that may affect the nature of the action we can take.

The beauty of NEPA is that it requires FEMA and other federal agencies to give equal consideration to environmental factors, in addition to financial and technical factors, in our planning and decision-making processes.

Hurricane Ike ravaged the environment along the upper Gulf Coast, an area that ranks high among this country's great bay systems. The saltwater intrusion on the soil and on freshwater habitats, not to mention extensive damage to the oyster reefs and marshes just nick the surface of the long-term damage caused by the storm.

We at FEMA are working vigorously to ensure our actions to help Texans recover from Hurricane Ike do not further upset nature's delicate balance.

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FEMA Public Assistance is Unusual in Texas (May 8, 2009)

Since Hurricane Ike's landfall in Texas nearly eight months ago, FEMA has been working side by side with state authorities to help individual Texans, local communities and the state of Texas recover from the storm's devastating effects

Today I am pleased to report that total Public Assistance (PA) grants to the state of Texas and local entities are approaching $900 million. That is a portion of the more than $2 billion in total federal assistance provided to the state and its Ike-affected residents since Sept. 13, 2008.

Because Ike was such a tremendous storm, FEMA has used all available tools to ensure Texas receives every federal dollar it is eligible to receive. In fact, some of the upward adjustments we have made in the federal share of Public Assistance awards are unusual.

Under the normal cost share, FEMA reimburses up to 75 percent for eligible disaster response and recovery Public Assistance expenses, while states and local communities pay the remaining 25 percent. In situations involving extreme local and state hardship, FEMA can pay 100 percent of the costs for emergency protective measures and debris removal - but these must be extraordinary cases.

In order to adjust the 75 percent federal share of obligated emergency work and/or permanent work costs, the state must request that the president of the United States amend the cost share of federal obligations to the disaster. Once the request is received, the decision-makers perform a careful assessment of the scope of disaster repairs and establish a credible projection of overall debris and permanent repair costs. As stewards of taxpayer dollars, the decision-makers then evaluate the precedent that would be set.

In the Hurricane Ike disaster, FEMA has reimbursed the state of Texas for 100 percent of the cost of debris removal for more than seven months, through April 26, 2009. This required three separate extensions of the federal cost share for such work. On April 27, the federal share for debris clean-up operations reverted back to the 75 percent level.

For 44 days, FEMA also paid 100 percent of the costs incurred for emergency protective measures, the actions taken just before the storm and immediately after landfall to protect the lives and safety of Texans.

Today Public Assistance obligations to the state of Texas for debris clean-up alone total more $415 million, while PA obligations for protective measures total nearly $380 million. We also have obligated more than $101 million for repairs to roads and bridges, water control facilities, public buildings and utilities, and recreational areas. As more and more formal requests come in for PA grants for repairs, we expect this last number to jump considerably.

FEMA recognizes Hurricane Ike's extraordinary impact on Texas and we pledge to work with the state and with local officials throughout the recovery effort's progress.

 

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Neighbors Helping Neighbors is Vital to Long-Term Recovery (May 4, 2009)

Last week I discussed efforts by leaders in some areas hit by Hurricane Ike to develop long-term rebuilding plans that aim to make their communities safer, stronger and more functional in the future. There is another side of long-term recovery: Texans joining together to help their neighbors address unmet storm-related needs.

In the Ike disaster, programs administered by FEMA and other federal and state agencies are contributing to the recovery process, but some Texans affected by the hurricane have long-term needs that go beyond the scope of government assistance. As FEMA does in every major disaster, we brought in a team of specialists to help communities form long-term recovery committees (LTRCs). These are groups that combine and coordinate the resources of area volunteer and faith-based organizations in order to best serve those Texans who still require assistance.

FEMA's specialists, the Voluntary Agency Liaisons (VALs), have traveled throughout the disaster area to help assess Ike's victims ongoing needs, meet with local groups and organizations to promote the creation of recovery committees, forge connections among organizations, and provide guidance to get local LTRCs off the ground. The VALs' message is that participating in an LTRC expands each local organization's opportunities to assist Texans affected by the disaster, and that by coordinating their efforts and sharing information the organizations make the best use of each member's services and resources, and avoid duplicating benefits.

The VALs also have helped develop county-specific Disaster Recovery Assistance guides, which list resources applicants can turn to for help when they are not eligible for government assistance or when this assistance ends. Guides have been created for Brazoria, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Chambers and Montgomery counties, and one for Jefferson County is in development.

In the Ike disaster, I am pleased to say that long-term recovery committees have been or are being developed in 15 counties affected by Ike, including hard-hit Galveston, Chambers, Jefferson, Orange and Harris. Some of these groups have committed thousands of hours of volunteer labor to their neighbors in need.

Working through the LTRCs, local volunteers have helped their neighbors with direct monetary assistance and with tasks such as moving their belongings into safer, sanitary housing; providing transportation and running errands; replacing destroyed clothing and household items; cleaning up debris from homes and lawns; tearing down mold-infected walls and installing sheetrock and roofs; and many, many other things.

For example, in the southern Orange County town of Bridge City, volunteers working through the local long-term recovery organization provided all the labor to rebuild an elderly woman's home following the storm. When the repairs were complete, the woman, who had been living temporarily in a FEMA-provided manufactured home, asked us to "come get the trailer so that other people in need will have a home."

In Port Arthur, a local organization provided funds to help pay the electricity bill of a single mother raising a 15-year-old son who has a disability. The mother and son, whose home was destroyed in Ike's storm surge, are residing in a FEMA-supplied manufactured home while volunteers repair their home.

Several different groups worked to help an 83-year-old WWII veteran, a man who cares for his adult daughter who suffered a brain injury as a child. The volunteers collected and disposed of piles of debris, and gutted the moldy interior and rebuilt his storm-ravaged home on Galveston Island.

Galveston County's long-term recovery group has rebuilt 51 homes in Galveston, Bacliff, San Leon and Bayou Vista. It also has provided monetary assistance to 38 families. The group, which includes more than 10,600 volunteers, gives priority to low-income families, especially the elderly, disabled and those headed by single parents.

It takes many agencies, government and private, as well as many individuals, to help communities and their citizens recover from a disaster. Texans have demonstrated from day one that they are ready to do whatever it takes to help one another not only survive the Ike disaster but to thrive over the long run. Texas' long-term recovery committees are vital to that effort.

You don't have to live in a disaster-declared county to reach out to Texans affected by Ike. All of these groups are in need of donations and/or volunteers. I urge you to contact your favorite volunteer or faith-based group for information on the long-term recovery committees in one of the affected counties. Your help could make a difference in the lives of those Texans who are still in need as a result of Hurricane Ike.

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FEMA is Helping Texas Communities Plan for a Better, Safer Future (April 27, 2009)

As the chaos of the Hurricane Ike disaster gives way to recovery, visionaries in some of Texas' hardest hit communities are looking to the future, with plans to rebuild their hometowns even better than they were before Ike hit. Specialists from our Long-Term Community Recovery (LTCR) program have been working side by side with leaders in several of those communities to offer advice and guidance on how to achieve their goals.

Because Ike was such a destructive and widespread storm, it has opened up opportunities for long-term planning that communities in Ike's path might not have considered in the past. The silver lining in the cloud of the Ike disaster, then, is that it has afforded affected cities and counties a rare chance to rethink their vision for the future.

For communities struggling to remain financially and emotionally afloat while recovering from the storm, though, suddenly being afforded this "golden opportunity" can be quite daunting. At first glance, the list of challenges seems endless. "Where do we begin?" "What are our opportunities?" "What makes a good project?" "How do we get our neighbors to support a plan?" "How can we afford to carry out a visionary plan?" and "How do we put it all together?" are just a few of the many questions the affected communities face.

That's where FEMA comes in. In extraordinary disasters such as Hurricane Ike, FEMA's LTCR team coordinates with federal, state and local governments and agencies as well as nonprofit groups to provide expertise and resources on rebuilding safer, stronger and smarter communities. One of LTCR's main goals is to help communities identify and take advantage of the opportunities that appear in the wake of disaster. LTCR is not a funding program, though it helps communities focus their vision for the future and identify potential financing sources. Once FEMA's specialists help organize the effort and get the planning process under way, they step aside so the local leaders can see it through.

The city of Galveston and Galveston County both requested our help on their long-term plans, as did Chambers and Jefferson counties. To each of them, our specialists delivered an important message: "Think Big."

We encourage communities to aim high with their plans because extraordinary projects get the community excited about long-term recovery - and involved in seeing plans through. This is essential to the success of any long-term plan and its projects. We like to quote Daniel Burnham, the pioneer planner and architect who supervised the construction of the 1893 Columbian Exposition (Chicago World's Fair) and developed the Plan for Chicago in 1909. Burnham said, "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will themselves not be realized."

Having seen several of the communities' plans, I am pleased to say each of them has aimed high.

On April 9, the city of Galveston's Recovery Committee presented its recovery plan to the City Council. The plan, comprised of 42 projects, was accepted unanimously and meetings are being held to discuss the next steps. Among the plan's highlights are proposals to:

• Rebuild the Port of Galveston in a way that would allow it to import more cargo and serve more cruise ships.
• Improve and beautify Seawall Boulevard to include visitor stations, vendor kiosks and public markets, and implement a themed transit system to support ease of movement for visitors and beach-goers between the area and downtown.
• Build a central multi-use athletic facility to replace Ike-damaged football, baseball and other sports fields scattered throughout the island.
• Offer grants to those willing to rebuild in existing neighborhoods, rather than start new housing developments, with the goal of keeping neighborhoods intact.

The Chambers County Recovery Team is scheduled to present its plan to the County Commissioners Court on Tuesday, April 28. The plan features more than 40 projects, including proposals to:

• Relocate Bayside Hospital, the county's only publicly owned hospital, farther from the bay and closer to transportation, and harden it against future storms. Ike's storm surge reached within one foot of the hospital.
•Establish a Workforce Development Academy to train a local workforce, with an emphasis on petrochemical manufacturing, eco-technology and health care, the community's main economic sources. This project aims to attract residents back to the area.
• Increase eco-tourism to the county by restoring storm-damaged habitats and repairing infrastructure. Encourage the development of additional attractions and services for tourists.
• Rebuild neighborhoods stronger than before by, among other things, adopting building codes with higher standards, and creating and staffing a Recovery Center to assist homeowners through the rebuilding process.

Jefferson County is set to present its planning report to County and city of Port Arthur officials and Sabine Pass community leaders on Tuesday as well. For this report FEMA provided technical assistance to develop strategies and initiatives, such as devising mapping and GIS data to identify and track the location of damaged homes. The FEMA specialists also provided guidance on prioritizing possible future projects to improve damaged sewer and wastewater treatment facilities, parks and marinas. The report offers many recommendations on the recovery process for environmental issues, health care concerns, emergency response and economic development.

FEMA's LTCR team also is working with Galveston County to create a long-term recovery plan for Bolivar Peninsula. Work on that plan is under way, with participants identifying issues, concerns and possible projects in their sectors. A communitywide open house was held on Saturday to discuss the issues involved.

We are extremely pleased to have assisted these communities as they develop thoughtful and comprehensive approaches to recovery. We also appreciate the positive comments we have received from some of the project leaders.  
 
"Without FEMA as a shaping structure, I'm not sure how we would have gotten through this process," Betty Massey, chairwoman of Galveston's Recovery Committee, told our LTCR specialists.

"The technical expertise that this group has given has been invaluable," said Anahuac Mayor Guy Jackson, chairman of the Chambers County Recovery Steering Committee. "If we had sought these services in the outside market it would have cost us big bucks."

In the wake of a disaster the size of Ike, it's natural for citizens, businesses and communities to want to "get back to normal" as quickly as possible, even when "normal" was less than ideal. FEMA, through its Long-Term Community Recovery program, is encouraging Texans to dream of creating the beautiful and storm-resistant communities they would want for their children and grandchildren; the kind of communities they would be proud to showcase for visitors.

With planning, patience and perseverance, many of those dreams can come true.


 

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Last Modified: Thursday, 03-Sep-2009 08:56:35 EDT