AUSTIN — Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush is pleased to announce more than $35.8 million in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds have been awarded for 38 locally identified infrastructure and housing projects in 23 communities impacted by the 2015 flooding events. The Texas General Land Office's (GLO) Community Development and Revitalization (CDR) team is working with local communities to facilitate the use of the funds. Of the total funding, $24.4 million will be used for infrastructure projects and $11.4 million is designated for new and reconstructed housing. The projects include flood mitigation measures to help communities build back stronger and more resilient.

"Communities in Texas suffered tremendous losses from flood disasters in 2015 and 2016," said Commissioner Bush. "The counties impacted represent 76 percent of the Texas population, or 20.9 million people - a total population greater than that of 48 states. The GLO continues to work diligently with communities impacted from all disasters to prioritize projects, maximize the use of funds and expedite the delivery of infrastructure and housing funds." 

Eligible entities from 112 of the 116 Texas counties affected by the 2015 floods submitted long-term recovery projects proposals for the available funding. The remaining four counties were identified by HUD as "most impacted" and received separate funding allocations. The projects selected represent the highest scoring applications meeting all program eligibility requirements. The GLO accepted project applications for 120 days following the announced release date of July 13, 2017. Due to Hurricane Harvey, the GLO extended the deadline to allow communities devastated by both the hurricane and 2015 floods time to submit applications. Due to limited funding, not all projects submitted were funded, resulting in an unmet need of locally submitted projects totaling more than $48 million.

PROJECT RECIPIENTS:

While the current allocation of CDBG-DR funds is well below the previously identified $2 billion in unmet needs for 2015 and 2016 flooding events, GLO staff remain committed to helping Texans recover and rebuild more resilient communities. For a complete listing of projects funded and the eligibility and application process, please visit www.TexasRebuilds.org.

About GLO Community Development and Revitalization (CDR): In addition to short-term housing in partnership with FEMA, the CDR division of the Texas General Land Office administers the Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) on behalf of the state of Texas. More than $9 billion have been allocated for recovery 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 www.TexasRebuilds.org.

For details on specific projects in each city or county, please see the “Infrastructure Projects Awarded” section on the following web page: http://www.glo.texas.gov/recovery/disasters/floods/index.html.

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