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The House Committee on Culture, Recreation & Tourism met on July 18 to hear invited testimony on interim charges related to the impact of Hurricane Harvey on several state agencies as well as mobilizing private boat owners during a disaster.

This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics the committee took up. This report is not a verbatim transcript of the hearing; it is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.

 

Charge 1: Review the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s and the Texas Historical Commission’s roles in the response to Hurricane Harvey. Evaluate the economic, recreational, and biological impacts and needed repairs from Harvey as they relate to applicable state agencies.

Carter Smith, Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission

  • TPWD has a large footprint along the coast, Harvey has a large impact on coastal operations that continues today
  • Clean-up, repair, and monitoring of wildlife impacted continues
  • State parks inland served as evacuation sites, hosted 8,000 evacuees for free after Harvey
  • 30 facilities were impacted, 16 parks, 8 coastal hatcheries, 5 wildlife management areas, and the regional office in Rockport
  • Roughly $22 million in damages to all facilities, was mitigated by emergency preparedness policy
  • Worst of the damage occurred on Mustang Island, Goose Island, etc. parks, flooding also affected many other parklands
  • TPWD was appropriated ~$48 million to pay for past flood damages in 2015-16, worked with Sen. Hancock to re-allocate ~$11 million for highest priority facilities need, also reallocated $7 million from existing projects to help pay for road damage
  • Working for up to $6.9 million in reimbursements from FEMA, in progress
  • Incurred $13 million in additional costs related to first responders/lifesaving efforts, more optimistic about FEMA reimbursing these funds
  • Emergency response & preparedness plans helped move crucial equipment/personnel, ultimately saved the state millions of dollars
  • Quick response teams were also very beneficial, teams that can get into damaged facilities quickly and begin restoration and clean up to stop cost bleeds
  • Restoring operations close to normal is also very important, citizens count on state to lead and promote efforts to restore parklands and services
  • If we could quit building in the floodplain we could, but in some areas this is not possible; need to revisit building with more resilient construction
  • Important to limit infrastructure development in leased areas when we know the areas will flood repeatedly
  • Have had to invest roughly $9-$10 million/year to cover natural disaster impact, has meant TPWD needs to pull from regular programs; some sort of contingency fund would be useful
  • We tend to see limited & localized storm impacts, e.g. certain species or geographies, but most species are well adapted & we don’t tend to see much direct mortality
  • Most mortality was due to freshwater flowing into saltwater bays, impacted oyster population
  • Indirect impacts were mostly for habitats, etc.
  • Storm did have a direct economic impact, destroyed many businesses and chilled hunting and fishing activity
  • Gervin-Hawkins – Are you doing any environmental studies?
    • Yes, sampling environments nearly every month, have longstanding data project of nearly 4 years allowing TPWD to track trends
    • Most impact tends to be very local and short-term, do not typically see larger impact on regional populations
    • Have deployed funds to accelerate recovery of some areas
  • Gervin-Hawkins – Are we getting any help from the federal level agencies like the EPA?
    • Yes, have received assistance from EPA, Fish and Wildlife Service, grant programs, etc.
  • Chair Frullo – On a year-to-date basis, have you seen fishing & hunting licenses catch back up?
    • Yes, we expected to a dip due to experience in past storms; currently roughly 3-4% below last year’s numbers
    • State park usage is down roughly 8-9%, seeing significant recovery
    • The major lag is sale of saltwater fishing permits, but understandable given uncertainty and damage to infrastructure
  • Chair Frullo – Where are the campgrounds at as far as being back up & running?
    • Visitation is still strong a that largest parks, capacity limits still in place

 

Mark Wolf, Texas Historical Commission

  • 22 state historic sites across Texas, ~200 historic building across the sites; 5 sites were located within Harvey’s impact
  • Saw some minor tree damage and building damage in certain places, most are built high and avoided floods
  • Sabine Pass Battleground seawall suffered significant damage @$2 million, Fulton Mansion rooftop opened during storm @$700k
  • Have been working with FEMA to get funds to repair properties, THC believes FEMA has everything needed from the agency, Fulton Mansion roof repair is on schedule & seawall repair is being contracted for
  • THC also has regulatory oversight and must approve any work that could affect historical sites, prepared in advance with FEMA to direct needed projects to THC
  • FEMA process is slow however, and has meant needed steps have not been taken, hoping to see projects and review to begin repair
  • Hoping to have a similar agreement with FEMA as HUD, will require additional FTEs
  • THC diverted preservation project funds @250k that helped fund repair on historic properties
  • Congress appropriated $50 million to create subgrant funds for state historical agencies, applied and expecting a response by October 1; will have $12.1 million if approved
  • Will need to start processing applications before the end of 2018 to move on this grant
  • Also partner with several members in the affected zone, local governments, county historical commission, etc.; THC also runs museum assistance and courthouse repair programs
  • Cultural resource surveys could help in the future by identifying properties with historical value; will help THC know what is in each area before the storm hits & will assist with FEMA and HUD collaboration; will take several years
  • Should also look at self-insurance & perhaps it is not the best option; should explore alternative insurance on a site-by-site basis
  • Gervin-Hawkins – So none of our facilities are covered by other insurance?
    • Only Sabine Pass as it had received funds from a previous storm, portions of the repair work were insured
  • Gervin-Hawkins – So you are asking for the state to assist in purchasing insurance?
    • Yes

 

Jim McMillan, Texas Commission on the Arts

  • Damage to arts centers varied widely, Rockport Center for the Arts no longer exists
  • Began looking to federal partners for assistances, established a webpage to help artists and arts centers find resources related to Harvey
  • Received $200k from the National Endowment for the Arts, $150k from the Andrew Mellon Foundation, also used $100k from the agency budget to set up a grant program
  • Were able to award ~$446k, but this is a small fraction of the damage experienced; Need is beyond the agency’s ability to assist in many areas
  • Working with the Houston arts community to develop disaster preparedness documents to assist arts organizations and artists in preparing for disasters

 

Gloria Meraz, Texas State Library and Archives Commission

  • Commission does have a facility in the affected zone, but it was not affected by Harvey
  • Commission is heavily invested in the informational infrastructure of the state however & FEMA has an eye on library network across the state
  • Worked with private partners, etc. to create an information network, quickly discovered that funding was needed to bring libraries back online
  • Were able to get approval quickly to get federal funds carried over into a new grant program, deployed in Sept. 2017, in many instances this was the only money libraries had available
  • Also expanded grant program to libraries providing shelter services, etc.
  • Total $192k, several libraries are not operational, incl. certain Harris County and Houston Public Library branches
  • Inventory of material culture assets in the sate would be very important, difficult to recover without full information
  • Also worked to get a solid vocabulary to help organizations navigate the FEMA application/rubric

 

Bryan Daniel, Economic Development and Tourism, Governor’s Office

  • Crucial to continue looking at how to assist coastal region of the state in promoting tourism
  • Media coverage of storm was very extensive, led to belief outside of the sate that all coastal areas were damaged; led effort to speak about undamaged areas to preserve tourism
  • Also worked to counteract reports that all hotel rooms were full & unavailable
  • Important to promote idea that the coast is open for business, focused state advertising campaign directly on coastal activities

 

Jeff Hentz, Port Aransas Chamber

  • Port Aransas is the recipient of some of the support discussed
  • Port Aransas was virtually shut down after Harvey, took 2-3 months to get basic services back up
  • The Port Aransas Chamber does not have the resources to fully support recovery
  • Lodging is back to ~50%, fishing and other services are close to normal, marinas, police, & fire have extensive facilities damage
  • Texas Tourism has assisted immensely in offsetting marketing costs; asking legislature to keep lodging issues in mind, Chamber is the only vehicle to advertise for these
  • Chair Frullo – Is there anything advertising for the whole area, rather than just Rockport or Port Aransas?
    • Every area has a different brand, but Coastal Bend United Coalition was formed between coastal Chambers, though more for advocacy
    • Have brought in grants from other organizations to help restore small businesses
  • Krause – I know $5 billion was recently allocated through HUD for affected areas, could this free up other funds that could then be used for marketing & promotion?
    • Chamber has looked into this, but we exist strictly of Hotel Occupancy Tax, would appreciate help to find way to tap into these funds
    • Need to make up the $1.5 million projected loss this season
    • Current capacity is sufficient, but do not have the marketing bandwidth to bring in tourists during the Winter
  • Gervin-Hawkins – Is there some way to be more innovative to be able to free infrastructure dollars that could be used for advertising
    • Constantly engaged in this, but need help & suggestions

 

Patrick Tarlton, Texas Deer Association

  • Experienced unparalleled death loss during Harvey and resulting weeks, should spur lessons learned
  • Would like to work alongside TPWD and TWA to develop an emergency program focused on captive deer
  • Clear and concise guidelines for Temporary Restriction of Movement would be helpful
  • Would also be helpful to be able to move animals around state without unnecessary delay, Florida has temporary restriction of movement removal
  • Looking for ways to move animals into alternative facilities out of the storm and then back after area recovers
  • After Harvey, lost animals to EHD and pneumonia at incredible rates
  • Chair Frullo – What are some of the things that could happen, we want to be careful with movement of quarantined animals, etc.?
    • Ability to move animals in mass via trailers or other methods, looking for a seamless process collaborating with breeders, etc.
    • Would be tough with Department’s strained resources and staff, industry and agency should work together on emergency processes
  • Krause – Do we have other programs for animal populations in Texas?
    • Would probably be a better ask of the Texas Animal Health Commission, joint partnership that adopts a template would be a good step
  • Krause – Best scenario is coming away from Session with a formal emergency response solution in place
    • Partially can be done at the agency-level, Governor also needed to act with he 10-day rule; could be an edit to the 10-day rule that avoids need for proclamation
  • Faircloth – Might be helpful to have a collaborative agreement on where to house these animals
    • Great plan

 

David Yates, Texas Wildlife Association

  • Encourages legislature to support Port Aransas recovery
  • Critical animal habitats along the coast have been damaged in GLO property
  • Open space and private land is where all flood attenuation and mitigation happened, anything the legislature can do to support open space and halt habitat fragmentation is critical
  • Should not lose the time and effort that went into CWD rules that govern movement guidelines, legislature should uphold the purpose of the rules
  • Supports waiver of 10-day rule, but CWD rules are critical; Florida is not CWD positive, so has more leeway in movement of deer
  • Frullo – My guess is that we probably can’t get where everyone wants immediately, but it seems like there are some things that could be done to help move deer & help keep animals alive; what could be done on this?
    • Idea of preplanning for evacuation locations makes good sense
    • There is a system for movement permits, none were denied, and there was a waiver of the 10-day rule
    • Pieces and parts are there, application of preplanning could help
  • Gervin-Hawkins – Is it possible to get an inventory of available sites for deer movement?
    • Frullo – Seems doable, would likely be up to individual actors

 

Charge 2: Study the feasibility of establishing and mobilizing a volunteer contingency of private boat owners through the boat registration and license database administered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to assist first responders in search and rescue efforts in natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey.

Nim Kidd, Texas Division of Emergency Management

  • This is great idea and can be done today, Harris County is already working on something like this
  • Frullo – Are there any potential costs and any possibilities for revenue?
    • Would like to differ this question to TPWD on this database and what it would look like
    • Would be another resource layer we could use, but would likely not be first or second layer; local areas use local resources, then state resources, and this would likely be the third tier
  • Frullo – Is this something you would be able to manage and incorporate into what you’re doing?
    • Important to bring in mayors and county judges, should look to local resources first
  • D Bonnen – This resource was helpful in some areas, but bothersome in others; need to differ to local officials, how would we utilize a tool like this
    • Would help us communicate and coordinate with those already in a registry
    • Collecting and registering a group today would allow us to share this info & utilization by local governments
    • No exceptional item from Division of Emergency Management
  • D Bonnen – Need to think through on what this means for those that aren’t registered
    • Will help direct those who want to be part of the solution, those who aren’t registered will still show up
  • D Bonnen – Is there a way to make registration simple? E.g. if someone is not registered, but wants to be when a disaster hits
    • I believe it can be simple, developed an app that can guide this and will track volunteer hours, can work something very similar for boat owners
    • Would like to make this resource available to local governments, can become part of the routine preparedness process
  • D Bonnen – What role would the state need to have Re; responsibility & accountability for having accurate information
    • I think this will be handled by coordination with local government partners
  • D Bonnen and Kidd discuss difficulties of guiding boat owners into needed areas, Bonnen concerned about funneling resources appropriately and the responsibility the state has for this
    • Current app has the capability to log pick ups and to guide boat owners towards drop off locations, will continue to develop

 

Cody Jones, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

  • Provides overview of disaster response teams at TWPD and of TPWD Game Wardens, personnel are well-trained to understand and confront risks involved with disasters like Harvey
  • Coast Guard is looking for ways to mitigate risks of untrained personnel in disaster situations
  • SB 701 required high value data to be placed on the internet, TPWD placed current boat registration data on the internet, available to the public & searchable in real time
  • D Bonnen – If we have the registry, you should consider if someone registers incorrectly & how you would deal with this
    • Louisiana approached this from the local level and allowed Sheriff’s Departments to work with registrants, system is not maintained at the state level
  • Frullo – Are there any rules by which a boat that is legal to operate in another state is not legal to operate in Texas?
    • Would have state registered boats in Texas, could work with other states and their data
    • Rescue efforts require different safety equipment, regulations applicable would be largely the same
  • Frullo – It is my understanding that it would be difficult to make the coding change, also would it be worth it to track $20 the reimbursement and could it offset the coding change cost?
    • Unsure on the cost recovery aspects
    • Kidd, TDEM – Would be very difficult to back charge the FEMA account for a system change before the event
    • Typically we pass savings to local partners for the purposes of cost-share, benefit typically gets paid back out in a specific district
    • We track evacuees, volunteers, etc.; from a volunteer perspective the volunteer hours are being tracked and the benefit is sent back to local government
  • D Bonnen – So the local volunteers with boats wouldn’t be in the registry?
    • Jones, TPWD – Volunteers would be registered in some form through TDEM, reimbursement could be difficult to track for local volunteers who aren’t registered