AUSTIN — Today Commissioner George P. Bush announced the Texas General Land Office (GLO) issued a request for qualifications solicitation to develop a $75 million planning study, consisting of three regionalized studies based on Texas' major river basins, to evaluate mitigation and abatement strategies to reduce disaster impacts and increase community resiliency. 

"Hurricane Harvey's devastation was unprecedented, but Texas continues to pull together to help one another rebuild stronger and more resilient," said Commissioner Bush. "It is critical for communities to work together to develop strategies to mitigate flooding both upstream and downstream. This study will not only help ensure funds are used where they are most needed, but it will also be key in protecting against future catastrophes."

Eligible entities include qualified engineering firms demonstrating an ability to provide planning implementation, data collection and analysis services to assist the agency in fulfilling its agreement with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to conduct planning studies to support areas or communities impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Submissions will be received until 2:00 p.m. on February 10, 2020. For more information, please visit https://recovery.texas.gov/local-government/programs/local-regional-state-planning/index.html.

River Basins Map from RFQ

The studies will consider structural and nonstructural infrastructure improvements, coding and zoning practices, and regional communication and control as each relates to flood control. The need for the study was identified in the GLO's Regional Planning Studies Survey, which gathered input from local officials, councils of government and river authorities in communities impacted by Hurricane Harvey, outside Harris County and the city of Houston. Participants in the survey indicated flood control and drainage improvements as the top needs for their communities. The Regional Planning Studies Survey is part of a larger outreach effort to gather local and regional input for the $137 million in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds available for local, regional and state planning.

About GLO Community Development and Revitalization (CDR) 

The Community Development and Revitalization (CDR) division of the Texas General Land Office administers the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development CDBG-DR funds on behalf of the state of Texas. For the first time in Texas history, following Hurricane Harvey, Governor Greg Abbott tasked the GLO with partnering with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on the short-term housing mission in addition to the long-term CDBG-DR effort. To date, more than $10 billion in combined CDBG-DR funds have been allocated to Texas for long-term housing recovery efforts following Hurricane Harvey. Only the $5.676 billion has been approved by HUD at this time.

For more information, please visit recovery.texas.gov.