WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:05.758 This meeting of the Texas Water Development Board 00:00:05.770 --> 00:00:10.539 is hereby called to order. The time is 9:34 AM. For the record, my 00:00:10.551 --> 00:00:15.315 name is Peter Lake. With me today at the dais are Kathleen Jackson 00:00:15.327 --> 00:00:20.102 and Brooke Paup. Before we dive into the first item, Todd, I would 00:00:20.114 --> 00:00:25.070 like to thank everyone for being here. I apologize for the logistics. 00:00:25.082 --> 00:00:29.695 As all of you can see, there's a lot of construction around here 00:00:29.707 --> 00:00:34.385 that has been an inconvenience to say the least. So we appreciate 00:00:34.397 --> 00:00:39.300 y'all working with us on the logistics and making the location work. 00:00:39.324 --> 00:00:40.850 Discussion regarding 00:00:40.862 --> 00:00:42.724 outreach efforts and activities by the Board. 00:00:47.164 --> 00:00:48.964 Did you want to do that? Or no? 00:00:48.988 --> 00:00:50.288 I think we're gonna wait. 00:00:50.312 --> 00:00:53.882 Okay. No formal action on this one. 00:00:53.894 --> 00:00:57.612 Anything? No formal action required. Next item, please. 00:00:57.636 --> 00:01:00.953 Consider authorizing the 00:01:00.965 --> 00:01:04.691 publication of the proposal to repeal existing 00:01:04.703 --> 00:01:08.264 Title 31, Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 00:01:08.276 --> 00:01:11.293 363, Sub-chapter B, and proposal of a 00:01:11.305 --> 00:01:14.527 new Title 31, Texas Administrative Code, 00:01:14.539 --> 00:01:18.009 Chapter 363, Sub-chapter B, relating to the 00:01:18.021 --> 00:01:21.327 funding of flood mitigation projects. Tom 00:01:21.339 --> 00:01:24.736 Inzminger is here to present to the board. 00:01:24.760 --> 00:01:27.346 Good morning, Chairman Lake, 00:01:27.358 --> 00:01:30.335 Directors Jackson and Paup. As you know, several bills 00:01:30.347 --> 00:01:32.993 from the 86th Legislative Session impacted TWDB. 00:01:33.005 --> 00:01:35.609 Senate Bills 7 & 8 gave us new responsibilities 00:01:35.621 --> 00:01:38.319 related to statewide flood planning and financial 00:01:38.331 --> 00:01:41.203 assistance for flood mitigation projects. SB8 covers 00:01:41.215 --> 00:01:44.190 the flood planning piece, and you'll hear the proposed 00:01:44.202 --> 00:01:46.809 rule-making for that in a separate meeting at a 00:01:46.820 --> 00:01:49.624 later date. The SB7 is for financial assistance for 00:01:49.636 --> 00:01:52.290 flood mitigation projects. Following the passage 00:01:52.302 --> 00:01:55.004 of those two bills, one of our first steps was to 00:01:55.016 --> 00:01:57.675 take public input. We did 14 workshops in cities 00:01:57.687 --> 00:02:00.332 across Texas, plus two webinars to hear from the 00:02:00.344 --> 00:02:03.218 public. And we also took written comments throughout 00:02:03.230 --> 00:02:05.880 the month of August, and speaking as someone who 00:02:05.892 --> 00:02:08.826 participated in about half those workshops and helped 00:02:08.838 --> 00:02:11.750 review the written comments, I can say that we really 00:02:11.762 --> 00:02:14.469 appreciate anyone who drove out and participating 00:02:14.481 --> 00:02:17.128 or sent us an email. On November 5, Texas voters 00:02:17.140 --> 00:02:19.799 approved Proposition 8 which allows for creation 00:02:19.811 --> 00:02:22.509 of the flood infrastructure fund. $793 million is 00:02:22.521 --> 00:02:25.285 transferred to that fund for uses outlined in SB7. 00:02:25.297 --> 00:02:28.164 So the proposed rule-making, which is attachment one 00:02:28.176 --> 00:02:30.838 to your memo, discusses our administrative rules 00:02:30.850 --> 00:02:33.547 for this new financial assistance. The format and 00:02:33.559 --> 00:02:36.539 language of the rule-making closely resembles the rule 00:02:36.551 --> 00:02:39.253 language we use for our other programs, but there 00:02:39.265 --> 00:02:42.034 are two notable exceptions that I'll point out for 00:02:42.046 --> 00:02:44.746 you. The first is that, in the section on minimum 00:02:44.758 --> 00:02:47.415 standards, there's a requirement that's actually 00:02:47.427 --> 00:02:50.241 carried down from SB7 that all necessary agreements 00:02:50.253 --> 00:02:52.971 and memorandum of understanding between political 00:02:52.983 --> 00:02:56.001 subdivisions in a project watershed must executed prior 00:02:56.013 --> 00:02:58.718 to our consideration of an application. Also, one 00:02:58.730 --> 00:03:01.538 exception is that the program will be governed by a 00:03:01.550 --> 00:03:04.207 flood mitigation implementation plan, a separate 00:03:04.219 --> 00:03:07.077 document which is attachment two to your board memo. 00:03:07.089 --> 00:03:09.689 That document is anticipated to be updated each 00:03:09.701 --> 00:03:12.729 year and would describe the annual project solicitation 00:03:12.741 --> 00:03:15.129 and prioritization process. It includes the 00:03:15.141 --> 00:03:17.998 details on minimum standards that all applicants and 00:03:18.010 --> 00:03:20.771 projects must meet. The anticipated prioritization 00:03:20.783 --> 00:03:23.429 and invitation time-line, categories of eligible 00:03:23.441 --> 00:03:25.937 projects, and the types of assistance they're 00:03:25.949 --> 00:03:28.809 eligible to receive, and the prioritization criteria 00:03:28.821 --> 00:03:31.476 that will be used to rank the proposed projects. 00:03:31.488 --> 00:03:34.355 The abridged application, which is envisioned as the 00:03:34.367 --> 00:03:37.137 first step in the application process, is attached 00:03:37.149 --> 00:03:39.951 to that implementation plan document. And under the 00:03:39.963 --> 00:03:42.886 proposed time-line, these would be due in April 2020. 00:03:42.898 --> 00:03:45.706 The EA proposes publishing the proposed rule-making 00:03:45.718 --> 00:03:48.376 for public comment, starting tomorrow and ending 00:03:48.388 --> 00:03:51.301 on January 13, 2020. The implementation plan document 00:03:51.313 --> 00:03:53.968 would be posted on the agency website for public 00:03:53.980 --> 00:03:56.791 comment during the same time period. And we created 00:03:56.803 --> 00:03:59.355 a new email account to receive those comments. 00:03:59.367 --> 00:04:02.279 That's fmip-comments@twdb.texas.gov. We'll be issuing 00:04:02.291 --> 00:04:05.053 an email notice to our distribution list, sometime 00:04:05.065 --> 00:04:07.766 in the next 24 hours, to make sure that word gets 00:04:07.778 --> 00:04:10.437 out. The proposed time-line, as I mentioned, the 00:04:10.449 --> 00:04:13.419 abridged application is due in April 2020. The process 00:04:13.431 --> 00:04:16.087 would continue resulting in financial assistance 00:04:16.099 --> 00:04:18.477 commitments in Fall 2020. This concludes my 00:04:18.489 --> 00:04:21.260 presentation, and I'm happy to take any questions. 00:04:23.884 --> 00:04:25.884 Questions? Comments? 00:04:26.933 --> 00:04:30.180 I wanted to say something, I guess, 00:04:30.192 --> 00:04:33.051 about the work of the staff. I think it's been an 00:04:33.063 --> 00:04:36.145 amazing work effort. If you think about it, you start 00:04:36.157 --> 00:04:39.308 with like a blank piece of paper, you have a brand new 00:04:39.320 --> 00:04:42.399 program. And, you know, sometimes, it's kinda easy to 00:04:42.411 --> 00:04:45.730 come up with something that kinda looks like this. It's a 00:04:45.742 --> 00:04:49.114 huge document. Trying to cover all of the various details, 00:04:49.126 --> 00:04:51.993 and y'know, the first thought, maybe, is that you 00:04:52.005 --> 00:04:55.197 just kinda go cut and paste from other programs that we 00:04:55.209 --> 00:04:58.355 have had, but I think the work of the staff in putting 00:04:58.367 --> 00:05:01.565 together these rules has been, you know, something that 00:05:01.577 --> 00:05:04.615 has generated a document that is easy to understand, 00:05:04.627 --> 00:05:07.707 and something that can be, over time, can be adapted. 00:05:07.719 --> 00:05:10.639 So we don't really know, going into it, what we're 00:05:10.651 --> 00:05:13.680 facing out there. Big city, small community, regions 00:05:13.692 --> 00:05:16.905 across the state. But being able to have a process or a 00:05:16.917 --> 00:05:20.280 rule-making that can be flexible and can be adaptive as we 00:05:20.292 --> 00:05:23.667 learn more as we kind go down the way and meet everybody's 00:05:23.679 --> 00:05:26.647 needs, so I mean, a great, great work effort by our 00:05:26.659 --> 00:05:29.696 staff. Again, literally, starting with a blank piece 00:05:29.708 --> 00:05:32.902 of paper and coming up with something that, in my mind, 00:05:32.914 --> 00:05:35.834 is yknow, something that is easy to understand and 00:05:35.846 --> 00:05:39.046 can be adaptive. And the other, I think, key point, is, 00:05:39.058 --> 00:05:42.098 you know, Tom mentioned, you know, the travel around 00:05:42.110 --> 00:05:44.902 the state and the sessions that we had to secure 00:05:44.914 --> 00:05:48.232 stakeholder input, and I think it has just been fantastic 00:05:48.244 --> 00:05:51.558 that, you know, we've had comments from so many different 00:05:51.570 --> 00:05:54.551 groups that have engaged, they spent a lot of time, 00:05:54.563 --> 00:05:57.701 they put a lot of effort into, you know, either giving 00:05:57.713 --> 00:06:00.634 you feedback or comments one on one with the staff 00:06:00.646 --> 00:06:04.077 directly which I think is always good, as well as providing 00:06:04.089 --> 00:06:07.016 written comments along the way. And certainly that 00:06:07.028 --> 00:06:09.988 was an important part of the initial process and is 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:13.258 something I think that's gonna. And you know, certainly, 00:06:13.270 --> 00:06:16.235 you know, that was an important part of the initial 00:06:16.247 --> 00:06:19.340 process, and it's something, I think, that's gonna be 00:06:19.352 --> 00:06:22.486 very important kind of moving on as we post this, give 00:06:22.498 --> 00:06:25.587 people a chance to look at the draft rules, and then, 00:06:25.599 --> 00:06:28.855 again, it's not done, we'll still have opportunities for 00:06:28.867 --> 00:06:31.905 people to give their thoughts and ideas. But I think 00:06:31.917 --> 00:06:35.050 it's exciting we've got a new program, and it's really 00:06:35.062 --> 00:06:38.207 good to see the work effort that's gone into it. There 00:06:38.219 --> 00:06:41.300 are a couple of things that I think kind of make this 00:06:41.312 --> 00:06:44.292 a little bit unique, and you kind of mentioned this 00:06:44.304 --> 00:06:47.612 going forward, and that is, and I think the intent of the 00:06:47.624 --> 00:06:50.829 Legislature was to make sure that it was collaborative, 00:06:50.841 --> 00:06:53.696 so you don’t impact your downstream neighbor. And 00:06:53.708 --> 00:06:56.920 again, we may have projects out there right now, but we 00:06:56.932 --> 00:07:00.064 want to make sure that going forward we use, you know, 00:07:00.076 --> 00:07:03.106 the best science that's available in terms of moving 00:07:03.118 --> 00:07:06.371 forward with these projects. The better the science. The 00:07:06.383 --> 00:07:09.361 better the data, the better the science. The better 00:07:09.373 --> 00:07:12.566 the science, the better the policy. So you know, really 00:07:12.578 --> 00:07:15.496 good to see that, you know, kind of the pillars of 00:07:15.508 --> 00:07:18.936 everything we've done and we've been successful for through 00:07:18.948 --> 00:07:21.929 the SRFs, the work that we've done in the past with 00:07:21.941 --> 00:07:25.132 flood, with working with FEMA, is getting, if you will, 00:07:25.144 --> 00:07:28.233 kind of, you know, an added boost and added help, you 00:07:28.245 --> 00:07:31.557 know, again, thanks to the Legislature, and thanks to the 00:07:31.569 --> 00:07:34.663 great work of the staff, and thanks to the, you know, 00:07:34.675 --> 00:07:37.698 the continued support from stakeholders, and we just 00:07:37.710 --> 00:07:40.801 encourage people to continue to look at this document 00:07:40.813 --> 00:07:43.841 and provide their thoughts and ideas and comments as 00:07:43.853 --> 00:07:47.008 we move forward. But thank you very much for the work. 00:07:49.056 --> 00:07:52.209 As usual, Director Jackson is 00:07:52.221 --> 00:07:55.588 spot on. Huge thanks to our flood team and to our 00:07:55.600 --> 00:07:58.961 GC. We've drafted rules that are familiar to most 00:07:58.973 --> 00:08:02.076 of our stakeholders, but still accomplish the 00:08:02.088 --> 00:08:05.108 goals as set by leadership with SB7. We held 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:08.220 14 flood workshops. I think collaboration and 00:08:08.232 --> 00:08:11.596 transparency has been the key priorities for this 00:08:11.608 --> 00:08:15.119 agency. As I've said before, this a brave new world 00:08:15.131 --> 00:08:18.412 for this agency. We cannot do this process, this 00:08:18.424 --> 00:08:21.649 new flood directive, without stakeholder input. 00:08:21.661 --> 00:08:24.745 That's why you all are here. That's why we're 00:08:24.757 --> 00:08:27.988 continuing to work with everyone. I think it's, 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:31.351 we've done the lion's share of the work, but now, 00:08:31.363 --> 00:08:34.456 take a look and, please, comment, let us know 00:08:34.468 --> 00:08:37.758 what you think. Staff has put a lot of time into 00:08:37.770 --> 00:08:41.004 these rules, and I'm very proud of the product. 00:08:42.053 --> 00:08:46.772 Absolutely. I agree with all of that. Especially 00:08:46.784 --> 00:08:50.726 your final point that this is really a kickoff moment, 00:08:50.738 --> 00:08:55.069 and we're relying on public stakeholders across the state to 00:08:55.081 --> 00:08:59.352 help us improve and reiterate these rules and this program. 00:09:00.401 --> 00:09:03.454 Make a comment for everybody here. 00:09:03.466 --> 00:09:06.628 So, just to make sure everybody understands. The board is docking 00:09:06.640 --> 00:09:09.747 the rules, allowing us to publish the rules today. They don't go 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:12.735 on the Register until probably a week from now. So that's the 00:09:12.747 --> 00:09:15.695 formal comment. However, we're gonna have this board package, 00:09:15.707 --> 00:09:18.716 along with our draft guidance document, up by tomorrow, so you 00:09:18.728 --> 00:09:21.826 start to comment on, and you can start commenting immediately on 00:09:21.838 --> 00:09:24.900 that. Even though it's not in the Register, the Texas Register. 00:09:24.924 --> 00:09:29.814 And those are the emails. The most direct way would be 00:09:29.826 --> 00:09:34.524 the emails that Tom mentioned. One email for rules, one email for the 00:09:34.548 --> 00:09:36.886 If you mess up 00:09:36.898 --> 00:09:39.248 and put rules in FMIP, I'll take care of it. 00:09:39.272 --> 00:09:42.920 And I might add. If any of you 00:09:42.932 --> 00:09:46.210 aren't getting the flood emails, if you'll 00:09:46.222 --> 00:09:49.912 leave your name and email address on this sheet, 00:09:49.924 --> 00:09:53.172 we'll make sure you get added to the list. 00:09:57.244 --> 00:09:59.244 Do we have anyone signed up to speak? 00:09:59.268 --> 00:10:05.759 No one has signed up to speak. Several people 00:10:05.771 --> 00:10:12.068 didn't say yes or no. But no one is signed up at this moment. 00:10:12.092 --> 00:10:15.292 Okay. Well, we'd all be happy, 00:10:15.304 --> 00:10:18.048 if there's someone from the public would 00:10:18.060 --> 00:10:21.029 like to comment on this board item, we would 00:10:21.041 --> 00:10:23.692 certainly welcome that. No requirement. 00:10:23.716 --> 00:10:25.716 They're saving their comment. 00:10:25.740 --> 00:10:29.940 Hard to, yeah, it's kind of tough before you see it. 00:10:31.988 --> 00:10:35.905 Peter, I'd like to congratulate the Board on the hires 00:10:35.917 --> 00:10:39.905 you're making and the progress you're making. We really appreciate 00:10:39.917 --> 00:10:43.690 it. There's a lot of excitement out in the flood community, and 00:10:43.702 --> 00:10:47.488 we're looking forward to working your good folks in the future. 00:10:48.537 --> 00:10:50.917 Thank you for the comments, Wes. We've got a 00:10:50.929 --> 00:10:53.436 good team, and we look forward to adding more great people to it. 00:10:57.508 --> 00:10:59.508 We're still hiring. (laughter) 00:11:03.580 --> 00:11:06.780 Alright. With that, does anyone have a motion? 00:11:06.804 --> 00:11:10.139 Chairman, I move we authorize 00:11:10.151 --> 00:11:12.776 the publication of a proposal to repeal 00:11:12.788 --> 00:11:15.801 existing Title 31, Texas Administrative Code, 00:11:15.813 --> 00:11:18.641 Chapter 363, Sub-chapter D, and a proposal 00:11:18.653 --> 00:11:21.515 of new Title 31, Texas Administrative Code, 00:11:21.527 --> 00:11:24.532 Chapter 363, Sub-chapter D, code, relating to 00:11:24.544 --> 00:11:27.412 the funding of flood mitigation projects as 00:11:27.424 --> 00:11:30.304 recommended by our executive administrator. 00:11:30.328 --> 00:11:31.569 Is there a second? 00:11:31.594 --> 00:11:32.352 I second. 00:11:32.376 --> 00:11:38.976 All in favor say aye. Motion passes. Next item, please. 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:41.000 The Board will receive comments from the public. 00:11:44.073 --> 00:11:49.176 Second chance. (laughter) If any member of 00:11:49.188 --> 00:11:54.132 the public would like to speak, comment, now is the time. 00:11:54.144 --> 00:11:58.741 If not, the Board will not meet in executive session, 00:11:58.753 --> 00:12:03.703 closed session, today, pursuant to provisions of sections 00:12:03.715 --> 00:12:08.799 551.071 and 551.074 of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 00:12:08.811 --> 00:12:13.567 551 of the Texas Government Code, and Section 6.0601 of 00:12:13.579 --> 00:12:18.158 the Texas Water Code. This meeting of the Texas Water 00:12:18.170 --> 00:12:23.272 Development Board is hereby adjourned. The time is 9:46 AM.