Today Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released mandatory rules for the use of more than $285 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds to assist in long-term recovery efforts following severe flooding in 2018 and 2019 in South Texas and the Lower Rio Grande Valley and Tropical Storm Imelda in Southeast Texas. The Texas General Land Office will use the rules published by HUD to develop a state action plan for the funds.
"Flooding continues to be the most destructive form of natural disaster threatening our state," Commissioner Bush said. "Many communities endured multiple significant rain events while still recovering from previous floods, including Hurricane Harvey. We must continue to work with our federal, state and local partners to prioritize long-term recovery efforts that increase the resiliency of homes, harden infrastructure and mitigate effects of future disasters."
In the state action plan, in accordance with federal rules, no less than 80% of the available funds will be allocated to eligible entities within the counties deemed by HUD to be Most Impacted and Distressed (MID). The remaining 20% may be allocated to eligible entities in non-MID counties.
2018 South Texas Floods (June 19 - July 13, 2018):
- Total funding: $72,913,000*
- Eligible counties: Cameron, Hidalgo and Jim Wells
- Hidalgo County - No less than $58,330,000*
- Cameron and Jim Wells - No more than $14,583,000*
- May 14, 2019 - HUD initial allocation of $46.4 million*
- December 3, 2019 - HUD second allocation of $26.513 million*
2019 Disasters:
- Total funding: $212,741,000*
- Eligible disasters and counties:
- 2019 Lower Rio Floods (June 24 - 25, 2019): Cameron, Hidalgo and Willacy Counties
- Tropical Storm Imelda (September 17 - 23, 2019): Chambers, Harris, Jefferson, Liberty, Montgomery, Orange and San Jacinto Counties
- Cameron, Chambers, Harris, Jefferson, Liberty, Montgomery and Orange; as well as 78570 (Hidalgo) zip code - no less than $170,193,000* (HUD MID)
- Hidalgo, San Jacinto and Willacy - no more than $42,548,000*
- December 3, 2019 - HUD initial allocation of $212,741,000*
*The total amounts listed also includes administrative and planning funding in the totals.
In the Federal Register notice, HUD specifically requires the disaster funds to primarily address unmet housing needs. Infrastructure and economic development are only eligible if there is no remaining unmet housing need, or if the remaining unmet housing need will be addressed by other sources of funds. Further requirements and regulations will be provided in coming action plans.
2018/2019 Funding:
HUD issued an initial allocation of $46,400,000 CDBG-DR funding for Cameron, Hidalgo and Jim Wells Counties in response to significant flooding in 2018.
On December 3, 2019, HUD announces second allocation of $26,513,000 for 2018, and an initial allocation of $212,741,000 in response to flooding and Tropical Storm Imelda in 2019.
In August, Commissioner Bush sent a letter to Dr. Ben Carson, Secretary of HUD, requesting Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding for the June 2018 flooding in South Texas.
About GLO Community Development and Revitalization (CDR)
In addition to short-term housing in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the CDR division of the Texas General Land Office was appointed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to administer both Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) and Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funds on behalf of the state of Texas. More than $14 billion have been allocated for recovery and mitigation following Hurricanes Rita, Dolly, and Ike, the 2011 wildfires, the 2015 and 2016 floods and Hurricane Harvey. These grants can be used for a wide variety of activities including housing redevelopment, infrastructure repair and long-term planning. For more information, please visit recovery.texas.gov.