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August 12, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Harris County Commissioners have approved a new Community Flood Resilience Task Force<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new task force, which passed Tuesday, Aug. 11, by a vote of 3-2, replaces the Flood Control Task Force established as a citizens\u2019 advisory group nearly fifty years ago in response to environmental concerns about flood control district practices. Ultimately dominated by developer and engineering interests, that task force lost its purpose.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The new task force, though met with strong disapproval and reservations even from supporters, is nevertheless a laudable effort to provide oversight to the district. It is apparently an initiative of County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who with some exasperation urged participants to \u201ckeep trying to make it successful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Her staff had done a \u201clot of research\u201d and looked at best practices of similar task forces around the country, she said at the meeting. Among other things, having a representative from each of the 22 watersheds<\/a>, as some had demanded, would be too large, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle and outgoing Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack voting nay, the approval came near the end of another marathon virtual meeting, though at 6 hours 42 minutes, the meeting was only half as long as prior meetings. Discussion and public comments begin around 5:16:40 on the video<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The approved bylaws<\/a> add the word \u201cFlood\u201d to the name of the Resilience Task Force, include a conflict of interest provision, open meetings to the public, and move the task force out of the county engineering department to a temporary home in Hidalgo\u2019s office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iris Gonzalez, director of the Coalition for Equity, Environment, and Resilience (CEER)<\/a>, called the bylaws \u201ca step backwards.\u201d She said they \u201cfail to truly implement the Harris Thrives<\/a> resolution\u201d which the coalition had helped to pass in August 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That resolution calls for the flood control district to, among other things, \u201cbolster community engagement related to flood control by revamping the roles and responsibilities of the Harris County Flood Control District Task Force and ensuring that a geographically diverse range of community members is represented.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evelyn Merz of the Houston Sierra Club<\/a> objected that as constituted there was still \u201cno one really there with a background in green infrastructure, or green space, particularly in the natural sciences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bob Rehak of Reduce Flooding Now<\/a>, a Humble-Kingwood area group, urged the commissioners to \u201ckill the proposal.\u201d He said the task force \u201cgoes against the will of the voters who voted in the bond program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harris County voters in 2018 approved the issuance for $2.5 billion in bonds to fund flood risk reduction projects<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.savebuffalobayou.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hidalgo-8.12.20-1024x622.png\")
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