Orange County government still has not been approved for FEMA reimbursements for Imelda debris pickup, but County Judge John Gothia said he expects it will come.
Gothia talked Monday morning with KOGT’s Gary Stelly on the People in the Know segment on The Morning Show.
The judge said the county will have to have to meet a minimum amount of storm-related damage, but damage to the Vidor schools should be enough alone to qualify.
County Road and Bridge Department crews have been picking up the debris from flood-damaged houses on county roads.
Gothia said the process is slow because the county equipment is not as large as other equipment that debris contractors use. The county trucks get full and then have to travel to the former county landfill site to empty. Sometimes, multiple trips have to be made for one house, slowing the clean-up.
Eventually, the debris will be moved from Orange County to a landfill in Newton County.
When FEMA qualifiers are met, the county can be reimbursed for the costs of picking up and disposing of the debris. The reimbursement includes the costs of the county hiring special contractors.
Gothia said the Texas Department of Transportation has started debris pickup along state highways and state-maintained Farm to Marker Roads.
Precise documentation of debris pickup and other storm recovery costs must be kept to get FEMA reimbursements. Gothia said the county is still trying to recover money from after Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Hurricane Ike in 2008. Some of those reimbursements were lost because of paperwork.
But Gothia, who was not in office during those two storms, said the county has gained experience through the years in work with storm recovery and FEMA reimbursements. All of the 2017 Harvey-related costs have been collected.
The judge also talked about the proposed “coastal spine” that has been designed along the Texas Gulf Coast. Orange County has been allocated $1.3 billion in federal money to build 26 miles of a levee and wall system along the southern part of the county.
However, Orange County does not have the huge share of the costs. “I don’t think we’re going to see that in my time,” Gothia said.
The 26-mile system will involve 277 different property owners, he said. He pointed out that a levee system that creates “a bowl” will need large pumps to get water out after rain events like Harvey and Imelda.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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