Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX) today commended the Army Corps of Engineers and the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) for reaching a historic agreement that will allow HCFCD to lead construction of the Clear Creek Flood Risk Reduction Project. This agreement will transfer primary authority and funding for the Clear Creek project to HCFCD. Authority to make this transfer from the Corps to a local sponsor like HCFCD has only been used once previously. This is the first time that it has been used for a full project. This action will allow the project to begin much sooner providing critical help for communities along Clear Creek.
The Clear Creek project was first authorized in 1968 federal bureaucracy has delayed this critical project for over half century" Rep. Pete Olson said. Ive fought to get this project funded and completed since my time as a senior staffer in the Senate. I was thrilled to get it included in our Harvey disaster recovery projects and now it will move quickly and help manage flooding in a strategic part of our region. I applaud the Army Corps and Harris County Flood Control for reaching this historic agreement to help finally get this project completed."
I am glad to see the Army Corp of Engineers working with our local flood officials is finally starting on and doing what they can to speed up the process to get flood mitigation on Clear Creek going" State Rep. Dennis Paul said. This has been the results of a lot of hard work by our federal state and local elected officials working together to get this project started."
Congressman Olson has been working on the Clear Creek project since he was a senior Senate staffer long before he was elected to Congress" Russ Poppe Executive Director of the Harris County Flood Control District said. We deeply appreciate his years of dedication to seeing this project come to fruition through the signing of this PPA as well the entire Harris County Delegation who all work tirelessly to give us more tools to address flooding in our Gulf Coast region.
Olson helped secure the $295 million for the Clear Creek Flood Damage Reduction project in the 2018 Disaster Supplemental funding bill. Olson also sent the Army Corps of Engineers a letter urging quick action to complete the Clear Creek Project in February.
The Clear Creek Project is a Flood Risk Management project that was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1968. The project is located in Harris and Brazoria counties Texas with 17 cities within the watershed. Now that the PPA is signed HCFCD will execute construction and the remaining design. The estimated completion date is September 2025.
