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Flood Mitigation

Texas Injunction a Threat to Clean Water Nationwide

The decision by a federal judge in Texas to freeze implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s clean water restoration rule in Texas and Idaho delays critical protections for drinking water, flood mitigation, and wildlife habitat for communities across both states. It also sets a dangerous precedent that threatens the urgent restoration of federal clean water protections nationwide. “Recent rollbacks of clean water protections left communities, businesses, and ecosystems in danger,” said Jim Murphy, director of legal advocacy for the National Wildlife Federation. “The EPA’s new rule is a common sense, science-based return to longstanding protections — firmly rooted in the structure and purpose of the Clean Water Act — that will begin to restore...

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Key Solutions to Texas’ Water Woes Are Simpler Than We Think

The National Wildlife Federation was recently invited to give testimony to the Texas Legislature on the condition of Texas' water and flood infrastructure and cost-effective ways to improve it. Jennifer Walker, deputy director of NWF's Texas Coast and Water Program, spoke to the Texas House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee on Aug 24, 2022. Both a recording of Walker's testimony and her full written remarks are included below: https://youtu.be/KgXEOYPtTEc Jennifer Walker, National Wildlife Federation, Testifying on Interim Charge 3: Examine the condition of Texas’ water and flood mitigation infrastructure capabilities and consider future infrastructure needs. Evaluate sustainable funding sources to provide for water project development and infrastructure repair and replacement. Examine and make recommendations for...

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What the ‘Code-Red’ Climate Report Means for Texas

The 2021 IPCC report released this week has a clear message: just as smoking causes cancer, greenhouse gas emissions are creating a ‘code red for humanity.’ Most discussions of the report so far have rightly focused on its clarification of the global picture. But what exactly does the report mean for Texas? Synthesizing IPCC data for the Central North America region, Dr. Arsum Pathak, Adaptation and Coastal Resilience Specialist for the National Wildlife Federation, has identified the following preliminary key takeaways for the Lone Star state: Texas Will Get Hotter Under all future scenarios laid out by the report, there will be an increase in both the intensity and frequency of extreme heat events for the region....

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Harris County Passes Bylaws for Community Task Force to Create a More Resilient Future

Listen below as Texas Living Waters' Danielle Goshen discusses the reconstituted Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force with two of the architects of the Harris Thrives Resolution: Iris Gonzalez, Director of CEER, the Coalition for Environment, Equity and Resilience, and Jordan Macha, Executive Director of Bayou City Waterkeeper. Iris Gonzalez, Director of CEER, the Coalition for Environment, Equity and Resilience Jordan Macha, Executive Director of Bayou City Waterkeeper Danielle Goshen, Water Policy & Outreach Specialist, Galveston Bay Foundation On August 11, 2020, Harris County Commissioners approved bylaws to reconstitute the Harris County Flood Control District Task Force as the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force (CFRTF). The previous task force, in place since 1972, was criticized for...

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Citizens Advisory Committees: A Rare Opportunity for Texans to Help Shape Pre-Disaster Flood Mitigation

In a rush? Listen to a 90-second audio summary of this article read by the author herself. Texans have a tangible opportunity to shape how their communities prepare for future heavy rain and flooding. It’s buried in a maze of bureaucratic language and comes with some unknowns, but it’s there and worth your time—especially if you live in a vulnerable area. This opportunity is called Citizen Advisory Committees, or CACs.  Texas has received an influx of nearly 4.3 billion dollars in the form of Community Development Block Grant – Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funds set aside for flood mitigation projects in areas affected by Hurricane Harvey, as well as 2015 and 2016 floods in Texas. These funds...

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