Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas Gov. Rick Perry has sent a letter to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton & U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu urging them to expedite the disbursement of millions in federal funding for infrastructure upgrades and the rehabilitation of flood control levees in the Rio Grande Valley.
The federal International Boundaries and Water Commission (IBWC) is responsible for maintenance of levees and drains in parts of Texas including the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
The recent storms that ravaged parts of South Texas raised new concerns about the safety and security of the levee system along the Rio Grande River"
Gov. Perry wrote in the letter.
Repairing the levees that IBWC has failed to maintain and correcting new problems identified are critical to ensuring the safety of Texans" said Perry.
Because of the federal governments failure to maintain the levees millions of dollars in property and thousands of lives are at risk in Texas if a storm comes ashore.
Of the $167 million in funding awarded to the IBWC for upgrades maintenance and repairs for levees in Texas only $49 million or less than
30 percent of the funds have been used.
Additionally improper maintenance of the levee system has allowed erosion to damage the integrity of the levee walls forcing local entities to redirect funds that were intended for other drainage projects.
Gov. Perry asked Secretary Clinton and Secretary Chu to expedite the IBWCS progress or provide funds to a state agency such as the Texas Department of Agriculture that can administer the Rio Grande rehabilitation program on behalf of the federal government.
The letter also asks the secretaries to work with Congress to provide additional funding to Texas to address existing problems in the levee system and reimburse local entities for the emergency actions taken to mitigate the threat of the faulty levees.
To view the governors letter
please click here.
