Emmett’s list
The county judge announced his anti-flood agenda, but real power resides elsewhere.
About dang time. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett described a 15-point plan during a press conference Wednesday to prevent regional flooding. It’s the sort of list that should have been released by Harris County’s chief executive after the Tax Day flood or the Memorial Day flood. It’s the sort of list that should have been drawn up by his predecessor Robert Eckels after Harris County completed an extensive hurricane preparedness study in 1999.
Maybe this is a sign that county government will finally take its flood control charge as seriously as its dedication to paving the Katy Prairie with miles upon miles of exurban roadway.
We were disappointed to see some key issues missing from the agenda that this page has advocated for over the years and in the immediate aftermath of the historic storm: building economic resilience at a personal and regional level; investing in greenspace; better water detention priorities and stricter runoff rules; targeting polluters and other bad actors.
But overall, Emmett’s list has plenty of common-sense solutions that have been part of the mainstream flood control conversation: create a regional flood control and water management organization; develop a better flood warning system; organize a local volunteer rescue crew, like the Cajun Navy; install barriers at flood prone intersections.
However, all too much of his agenda reads like a honey-do list that lands in someone else’s lap.
Issues like updating flood plains require action from FEMA. Projects by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to improve bayous or update the Addicks and Barker dams rely on federal funding. Granting new ordinance-making and sales tax powers to the county needs legislative action in Austin — and state lawmakers have shut down this sort of request in the past.
Local leaders can talk about these flood control needs all they want, but the power to act resides in Austin and Washington. Consider this one of the big lessons post-Harvey: The greatest challenge to a more resilient region isn’t engineering or creativity. The problem is politics.
Unless Emmett gets Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session, a good chunk of these 15 issues will have to wait until 2019. And unless Emmett convinces House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to sign onto his plan, Harris County shouldn’t expect any sort of help from Washington. Real local coordination on flooding won’t happen until Emmett can make this sort of announcement alongside Mayor Sylvester Turner and chief recovery officer Marvin Odum.
So instead of 15 ideas for fighting flooding, maybe Emmett should draw up a list of the 15 legislators and representatives on the 2018 ballot who stand between Harris County and fully-funded flood control.
He and the rest of Commissioners Court could burn some shoe leather holding town halls across the county, educating voters about where responsibility lies for different flood prevention problems and bottlenecks that exist in government action.
Emmett can also answer questions about why it took three major floods for him to draw up a list of solutions. After all, his name will be on the 2018 ballot, too, and voters deserve answers.
Unless Emmett gets Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session, a good chunk of these 15 issues will have to wait until 2019.