Background
In 2015, Texas had two separate events that qualified for disaster recovery funding. Both events resulted from heavy rains and winds that caused severe damage across nearly half the state, or 134,000 square miles. The May events occurred May 4 to June 23, 2015. During the first part of May, many locations across the state received well above normal rainfall, creating saturated ground conditions. When the Memorial Day weekend arrived, the saturated soil forced rain runoff directly into rivers, streams, and flash-flood prone areas. Certain areas of Texas saw more than 20 inches of rainfall in a matter of days. In total, about 8 million acre-feet of water flowed into the state’s reservoirs.
Central and eastern Texas were also hit by dangerous flooding October 22 through October 31 when rainfall patterns converged with remnants of Hurricane Patricia.
In total, 116 counties were impacted by these two disaster events, with 19 counties designated as impacted by both disasters. “Most impacted” county designations by HUD include Harris, Hays, Hidalgo, and Travis.
2015 Disaster Timeline
- May 4-June 23, 2015 (Memorial Day Floods) - 1st disaster event
- May 29, 2015 - DR-4223 declaration
- October 22- October 31, 2015 - 2nd disaster event
- November 25, 2015 - DR-4245 declaration
- December 18, 2015 - $142.3 million in CDBG-DR funds allocated under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (P.L. 114-113)
- City of Houston direct allocation of $66.5 million
- City of San Marcos direct allocation of $25 million
- State of Texas allocation of $50.6 million
- June 17, 2016 Federal Register Notice published, providing requirements for the state’s Action Plan
- September 20, 2016 - GLO submits the state’s Action Plan to HUD for approval
- November 10, 2016 - GLO submits revised version of the Action Plan to HUD
- February 13, 2017 - GLO-CDR receives HUD approval for the Action Plan
- February 21, 2017 - GLO-CDR proposed Amendment 1 to the Action Plan providing detailed guidelines for a competition to distribute $25.6 million to the eligible 112 counties not designated as most impacted (Harris, Hays, Hidalgo, and Travis)
- March 3, 2017 - Non-housing application sent to most impacted counties
- March 13, 2017 - 14-day public comment period for Amendment 1 ends
- March 16, 2017 - Amendment 1 submitted to HUD for approval
- May 5, 2017 - $15.6 million in additional CDBG-DR funds allocated under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017
- City of Houston direct allocation of $20.5 million
- City of San Marcos direct allocation of $7.7 million
- June 13, 2017 - HUD approved Amendment 1 of the State Action Plan
- July 13, 2017 – GLO begins to accept project applications from eligible entities for $25.6 million in available disaster funds
- August 7, 2017 $8.2 million in additional CDBG-DR funds appropriated under Fiscal Year 2016 and 2017 CDBG-DR Appropriations
- October 23, 2017 - GLO Published Amendment 2 for the State Action Plan for the federally mandated public comment period from October 23 to November 6, 2017.
- November 30, 2017 – Deadline for eligible entities to submit project applications
- December 29, 2017 - State Action Plan, Amendment 2 HUD approved
- March 21, 2018 - GLO announcement of housing and infrastructure project applicants selected for available disaster funds
- August 28, 2019 - GLO submitted non-substantial Amendment 3 to HUD for review and approval
- September 4, 2019 - HUD acknowledged non-substantial Amendment 3 of the State Action Plan
- December 4, 2020 - GLO submitted non-substantial Amendment 4 to HUD for review and approval
- December 11, 2020 - HUD acknowledged non-substantial Amendment 4 of the State Action Plan
- September 28, 2023 - HUD acknowledged non-substantial Amendment 5 of the State Action Plan
Next Steps:
- All grant funding to be expended within 8 years of HUD’s execution of the grant agreement (April 5, 2017)