RECOMMENDATION:
ORDINANCE approving and authorizing submission of a grant application to the TEXAS DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (TDEM) for Keegans Bayou and Ruffino Hills Detention Improvements through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP); declaring the City’s eligibility for such grant; and authorizing the Director of Houston Public Works to act as the City’s representative in the grant application process for an estimated project period of 36 months.
SPECIFIC EXPLANATION:
Houston Public Works recommends that City Council approve an ordinance authorizing submission of a grant application to TDEM for flood proofing measures through the HMGP program; declaring the City’s eligibility for such grants; and authorizing the Director to act as the City’s representative in the grant application process.
The HMGP program, authorized by Section 404 of the amended Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, provides post-disaster funding for eligible mitigation projects in accordance with the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Unified Guidance and the 44 CFR § 206.430.
As the grant recipient for the HMGP program for the State of Texas, TDEM published a notice of funding opportunity on December 10th, 2021 for funding available for the HMGP program related to the presidentially declared DR-4485 COVID-19 Pandemic.
The Keegans Bayou and Ruffino Hills Detention Improvements Project is designed to reduce or eliminate flood burden on developed areas of the Keegans Bayou Watershed located in southwest Houston.
Current conditions in this reach of Keegans Bayou have the channel narrowing by about 40 percent as compared to upstream reaches, leading to widespread flooding during storm events of nearby structures. Since 2015 the area experienced three major flood events -- The Memorial Day Flood of 2015, The Tax Day Flood of 2016 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017 – each of which resulted in presidential disaster declarations, and is subject to recuring flooding from smaller-scale storm events including a 10-year flooding event in 2015 resulting in $701,257.00 in damages, a 100-year flooding event in 2016 resulting in $3,280,860.00 in damages, and a 50-year flooding event resulting in $1,740,153.00 in damages.
The proposed project is to mitigate the risk from flooding in the area by excavating to create a detention pond and widening the Keegan's Bayou channel.
There is a 25% local match requirement. Under the HMGP program, management costs of up to 5% may be reimbursed under the 100% federal share. If and when individual projects are selected for award, Houston Public Works will bring acceptance of the grant award(s) to City Council for approval with detail of the specific amounts and sources of the required local funding match.
The table below identifies the requested funding amount and anticipated local match requirement.
|
Project
|
Managing Department
|
Federal Request
|
Estimated Local Match
|
Total
|
|
Keegans Bayou and Ruffino Hills Detention Improvements
|
Houston Public Works
|
$72,487,880.00
|
$24,162,627.00
|
$96,650,507.00
|
GRANT FISCAL NOTE: No Fiscal Note is required on grant items.
CIP FISCAL NOTE: No significant Fiscal Operating Impact is anticipated as a result of this project.
______________________________
Carol Ellinger Haddock, P.E., Director
Houston Public Works