On June 11, 2018, Colonel Lars N. Zetterstrom, Commanding Officer at the Galveston District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, granted a 75-day public comment period for the Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration Feasibility Study and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will be released at the end of September 2018.  This study will cover the entire Texas Coat and will look at storm surge protection and ecosystem restoration alternatives.

 

The Houston Sierra Club (Sierra Club) and other organizations concerned about Galveston Bay and the potential environmental impacts that the “Ike Dike or coastal barrier” will have on the health of the Bay, met with the Corps on January 8, 2018 to get an update on the study.

 

At that meeting, the Sierra Club and others asked the Corps whether the normal 45-day public comment period could be extended to 90-days to ensure that the public and all who are interested in these issues have sufficient time to review and comment on the study.  The Corps stated that it would take an extension of the public comment period into consideration if a request was made.

 

On January 29, 2018, the Sierra Club, American Bird Conservancy, Artist Boat, Bayou City Waterkeeper, Christmas Bay Foundation, Defenders of Wildlife, Galveston Bay Foundation, Gulf Restoration Network, Houston Audubon Society, Lower Brazos Riverwatch, National Wildlife Federation, Save Buffalo Bayou, Texas Campaign for the Environment, Texas Health and Environmental Alliance, and Turtle Island Restoration Network sent a letter to Colonel Zetterstrom which requested a 90-day public comment period for the study.

 

The organizations stated in their letter that:  the document was the first “Mega-Study” that the Corps had ever prepared, would cover the entire Texas Coast, and would thus set a precedent; the study and appendices will be over 1,000 pages and will consist of technical, environmental, economic, and social information, data, and analyses; the study is important because of the significant, continued, and permanent environmental impacts its implementation could have on Galveston Bay, Bolivar Peninsula, and Galveston Island; this will be the first time the public can fully review and comment on alternatives that are costly and technically demanding to construct; and the importance of climate change and the short and long-term effects that more intense rainfall events, more rainfall events, sea level rise, more storms and hurricanes, and more intense storms and hurricanes will have on alternatives must be adequately analyzed, assessed, and evaluated.

 

After five and a half months, the Corps agreed that additional time was needed for public comment and granted an additional 30 days beyond the normal 45 days given for public comment periods for an EIS.  While the Sierra Club would prefer an additional two weeks, so that the public has 90 days to comment, it appreciates the Colonel and Corps action to extend the comment period to 75 days.

 

The Sierra Club will provide its members and the public with additional information as the study’s release approaches and when the study is released.  Please check the Sierra Club website for updates and fact sheets that can be used to prepare your comments during the comment period.

 

For more information contact Brandt Mannchen at 832-907-3615 or brandtshnfbt@juno.com or Evelyn Merz at 713-644-8228 or elmerz@hal-pc.org.     

 

Brandt Mannchen

June 18, 2018