Harvey exposed flood risk. Now we need fixes to keep us high, dry — and healthy.
For fairness sake, give more people a say in this recovery
During Harvey, and several weeks after the storm, more than 70 toxic sites flooded, contributing to more than 700,000 thousand gallons of pollutants released into our water and land. According to industry estimates, more than two million pounds of harmful cancer-causing chemicals were released into our air — the equivalent of fives months’ worth of unauthorized air pollution in just a few days. Rightly, efforts were focused first on getting people back into homes and meeting immediate needs. But now, as policy decisions are being made, the intersection of hazard mitigation, affordable housing, and resilience should also be prioritized.
One thing Harvey has made painfully clear is that we must recognize the intersection of pollution, place, and public health. That is why 23 organizations have joined together to form the Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience. CEER advocates for equity and resilience in our recovery effort by addressing how we live with our natural environment and urban landscape — recognizing that equitable policies around air, land, water, housing, and waste must be a central part of our recovery framework.
Hurricane Harvey revealed that runaway development in our floodplains has put thousands of residents in harm’s way, a risk often undisclosed to them. As decision-makers now consider how to best protect our region from flooding and damage from future storms, the need for transparency in the decision-making process is critical to ensure the public has a voice in those decisions and is fully informed about what corrective measures can be taken.
The recent pushback against the inadequate public comment period for the Mayor’s update to the floodplain ordinance highlights the need for transparency in developing city policy.
CEER aims to drive community voices into the post Harvey decision-making process by advocating for greater transparency and opportunities for public input on policy and infrastructure proposals.
While Harvey damaged and displaced homeowners across the socioeconomic spectrum, the storm's impact was comparatively worse for people of color and lowerincome residents. High levels of E. coli, lead and arsenic that flooded the living rooms of a public housing project along Buffalo Bayou puts this already vulnerable community at greater risk for longterm health problems. CEER advocates for equitable policies and spending to ensure that funds are directed to the most impacted and vulnerable communities.
Our region is naturally flood-prone, and development patterns — along with losses to our wetlands and habitats — have contributed to regional flooding. Likewise, allowing toxic facilities to be built near people without adequate safeguards risks residential exposure to pollution during storms and the chemical contamination of watersheds. Effective debris management would minimize the impact of temporary debris removal sites on neighborhoods.
To protect public health, we advocate for cleaning up hazards that contaminate our air, water and land, while reducing flooding through land conservation. Harvey destroyed homes, upended lives and put the health and safety of tens of thousands at risk.
Our elected leaders must embrace equity and transparency and promote resiliency as they commit public investment to reflect the environmental, social and economic risks that go with our coastal landscape, industrial ship channel and growing population in a city rich with bayous and streams.
CEER has developed an eight-point plan that calls on elected leaders, industry and other decision-makers to ensure environmental equity and need-based spending is at the heart of this recovery effort. There is too much at stake to continue supporting our laissez-faire approach to development.
We cannot afford to move forward with an attitude of “business as usual” at the expense of becoming a city that is resilient, sustainable, healthy and just.