Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) submitted comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries Resiliency Study (BBTRS) Interim Report, which evaluates multiple alternatives to reduce flood risk and manage water conveyance in and around Texas’ Seventh Congressional District.  In her letter, Congresswoman Fletcher urges the Corps to incorporate the public feedback from residents in Texas’ Seventh Congressional District into the upcoming Draft Report and to make the data and modeling used in the Interim Report available to the public. 

“It is also absolutely essential for our community to develop a consensus about the locally preferred alternatives and to be heard here, where the magnitude of the project and its importance cannot be understated,” Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher wrote. 

She continued: “I look forward to continuing our dialogue and engaging in this vitally important project for Texas’ Seventh Congressional District and for the entire Houston region. I welcome the opportunity to facilitate additional conversations with my constituents and to convene all stakeholders to arrive at a plan our community will support.”

Her formal comments follow Congresswoman Fletcher’s telephone town hall on the BBTRS Interim Report, where more than 1,200 participants engaged in a discussion about the proposed alternatives with Congresswoman Fletcher, Russ Poppe, Executive Director of Harris County Flood Control District, and representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Col. Timothy Vail, Galveston District Commander; Andrew Weber, Buffalo Bayou Project Manager; and Byron Williams, Chief, Project Management Branch for the Galveston District.  

You can listen to the telephone town hall here.

You can read Congresswoman Fletcher’s public comment letter here.

The BBTRS Interim Report and public comment form is available here.

Last month, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher successfully called for an extension of the public comment period, which was originally scheduled to end on November 2, 2020.  After the end of the public comment period, the Corps. will evaluate prepare a Draft Report incorporating the comment, to be followed by another period of public comment before a Final Chiefs’ Report with a proposal for the project is submitted to Congress.

This study was authorized by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 and is performed in collaboration with the Harris County Flood Control District as the local sponsor.