Today Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced the Texas General Land Office (GLO) approved $8,583,167 in Hurricane Harvey disaster recovery funds for extensive infrastructure improvements relating to drainage, street, communication, and public facility systems in Hardin County. These infrastructure improvements are anticipated to benefit more than 57,000 residents in the area.
"Hurricane Harvey devastated communities across the Texas Coast," said Commissioner Bush. "These recovery funds are critical to improving local infrastructure that will protect lives, homes and businesses from future storms. We continue to work with our partners in communities across the region to leverage these resources efficiently and effectively to benefit Texans affected by Hurricane Harvey."
Hardin County was overwhelmed by Hurricane Harvey as heavy rainfall caused flooding of streets and homes, threatening public health, safety, and welfare. With these funds, Hardin County will construct a stormwater detention pond on North Tomlinson Road and make substantial street improvements to 24,000 linear feet of roadway along Gore Store Road, including reconstructing the driving surface, milling the road base, applying asphalt, striping several streets and repairing a bridge. These improvements will facilitate proper stormwater conveyance and reduce the impact of future flooding.
Additionally, the county will procure high clearance fire trucks and mounted radios for Kountze, Saratoga and Silsbee fire departments. Hardin County will also purchase 80 urgent need radios and build a new radio tower on Old Highway 418 in Silsbee.
Texas GLO Hurricane Harvey Recovery Funds:
Commissioner George P. Bush and the Texas General Land Office was appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to lead the historic Hurricane Harvey housing recovery efforts funded by $5.676 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The GLO allocated $413 million of the allocation for infrastructure projects to protect communities affected by the storm. The GLO allocated the funds to regional Council of Governments’ (COGs) based on a HUD approved needs assessment. The locally-led COGs then conducted methods of distribution (MODs) for determining infrastructure and buyout and acquisition amounts for cities and counties within each jurisdiction. COG boards are comprised of officials from the impacted communities elected in part to prioritize funds allocated for recovery programs. The MOD process requires public engagement and the GLO reviewed each MOD for compliance with federal rules and requirements before approving each plan.
To review the approved MODs, please visit https://recovery.texas.gov/action-plans/hurricane-harvey/index.html .