Lawmakers push for funding options for levees

Federal officials continue to press fellow lawmakers to back initiatives allowing Rio Grande Valley communities to make improvements to the levee system that would be reimbursed by the International Boundary and Water Commission.

In a written statement, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, announced Tuesday that he participated in a Senate subcommittee hearing to review response and recovery efforts for recent hurricanes, including Hurricane Dolly, which struck the Rio Grande Valley July 23.

Cornyn said he also sent a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee to request its backing to his levee reimbursement legislation for the Rio Grande Valley as part of the upcoming emergency supplemental legislation for disaster relief.

Pointing to Dolly, which caused extensive flooding, Cornyn wrote that, "while this created real hardship for victims, Dolly could have been an unimaginable disaster had the levees along the Rio Grande River failed. A catastrophic levee breach would threaten tens of thousands of Texans, and cause billions of dollars in property damage."

Cornyn pointed out that IBWC reported five years ago that the levees along the Rio Grande River were inadequate to protect communities in a 100-year flood event, and that a number of levees in the Lower Rio Grande Valley would have to be raised to protect against flooding.

Cornyn said that the commission estimated that it would cost $125 million to fully repair the levee system.

U.S. Rep. Solomon P. Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, announced Wednesday that the House of Representatives passed the Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security appropriations for 2009.

This included $37.5 million to IBWC for immediate repairs and rehabilitation of preventive flood systems along the Rio Grande.

In his statement, Ortiz said that $22.9 billion also were appropriated for disaster relief efforts, including those affected by Dolly.

Of that amount, $6.5 billion would be used to provide communities with grants for housing, repairs, to replace damaged homes and public infrastructure.

The Senate is expected to vote on the appropriations bill by the end of the week.