HCC Conservation Forum

Public Comments Still Needed: Helpful Background Videos and Op-Ed Articles are Available

Public comments are still needed on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries Resiliency Study. You can submit yours directly to BBTRS@usace.army.mil, or you may want to take advantage of the online tool provided by Bayou City Waterkeeper. To get up to speed quickly on this issue, you can find links to two outstanding videos and two op-ed articles from the Houston Chronicle HERE.   

A New Video and Slide Show Review the Corps of Engineers' Interim Report on Buffalo Bayou

An excellent 20-minute overview of the Army Corps of Engineers’ Interim Study is posted online at https://www.facebook.com/HoustonStronger/videos/744684109424672/?hc_ref=ARRxbvYx6G62tTl4PNmr1ML-zp__S-ImEn9OrwF7AbNqm63B2vrK43Y5H1ZOMq6StLI. The speaker is Steve Robinson, an attorney who has decades of experience with Houston's flooding issues. 

Another highly informative resource is the slide show that was presented by Mary Anne Piacentini, CEO of the Katy Prairie Conservancy, during the October meeting of the Bayou Preservation Association’s Board of Directors. She describes a variety of smaller scale, decentralized measures that can deliver benefits much sooner. See the attachment below.

There are still two more public meetings on October 22 and October 26 when you can hear presentations about the Interim Report and submit your comments on it. More about how to participate in them is available at this link. 

The Katy Prairie Conservancy is supporting the following recommendations regarding the Buffalo Bayou & Tributaries Resiliency Study Interim Report:

1.    Ask the Corps to extend the public comment period to December 31, 2020.

2.    Let the Corps know you oppose the Corps’ proposal for a Cypress Creek Reservoir as it would:

• irreparably damage the Katy Prairie plant and animal community,
• negate the work of multiple government and philanthropic efforts to preserve this imperiled ecosystem,
• not solve the problem of the potential for continued flooding within the Barker Reservoir non-government owned lands, nor of flooding down Buffalo Bayou,
• not make economic sense per the Corps’ guidance

3.    Recommend that the Corps consider alternative approaches such as the ones developed by KPC and other groups that include:

• Nature-based solutions in Upper Cypress Creek – preserve and expand preserves
• Detention and Retention in Upper Addicks Reservoir – Creekside storage
• Excavation of Addicks and Barker Reservoirs to increase storage capacity
• Conveyance options that do not damage natural resources
• Solutions that are additive, decentralized, and can be implemented quickly.

There will still be two more public information and comment sessions for the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Interim Report for the Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries, Texas Resiliency Study. These will be held on Thursday October 22 at 6:00 PM and on Monday October 26 at 1:00 PM. Projects being considered include:

·      Constructing a 190,000 acre-ft. reservoir on the Katy Prairie where Cypress Creek crosses the boundary between Harris County and Waller County. (Compare with Addicks at 201,000 acre-ft. and Barker at 209,000 acre-ft.)

·      Increasing the depth and width of the Buffalo Bayou channel from Barker Reservoir to downtown Houston.

·      Acquiring additional land along the Buffalo Bayou channel downstream of Addicks and Barker Reservoirs.

·      Acquiring additional land in the upstream portions of Addicks and Barker Reservoirs.

You may submit written comments by email to BBTRS@usace.army.mil or by mail to: USACE, Galveston District, Attn: BBTRS, P.O. Box 1229, Galveston, TX 77553-1229.

You may also enter questions into the chat box during the live online webinar. Instructions for attending the webinar are at this link. Be sure to allow a few minutes ahead of time, since it is necessary to establish a video link to your computer and a separate audio link to your telephone. (There is not a “computer audio” option.)

The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers is requesting public comments on its Interim Report for the Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries, Texas Resiliency Study. The report presents a range of alternatives for comment, including:

·      Construction of a Cypress Creek Reservoir

·      Widening and deepening 49.4 miles of the Buffalo Bayou channel

·      Property acquisition along Buffalo Bayou

·      Replacement or reinforcement of the spillways of the Addicks and Barker dams

·      Acquisition of additional land in the upstream portions of the Addicks and Barker Reservoirs

More details about each of the alternatives are available in Section 4.8.1 of the Interim Feasibility Report.

Virtual public information sessions will be held on October 13, 15, and 22 at 6:00 PM, and on October 26 at 1:00 PM.  More about how to participate is available at this link.