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Your Monthly News & Updates
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H-GAC Seeks Feedback on Hurricane Harvey Funding Draft
Method of Distribution
H-GAC is seeking input on the draft method of distribution of $241 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery funding to counties and local jurisdictions for buyout/acquisition and infrastructure projects associated with Hurricane Harvey. The allocation includes $111 million of recovery funds for a local buyout/acquisition program and $130 million for local infrastructure projects in Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Waller, Walker, and Wharton counties.
Written and oral comments will be taken at four public planning meetings and two public hearings. Times, dates and places are posted online.
The Draft Method of Distribution will be posted on Thursday, June 21, at
www.h-gac.com/harvey/cdbg-disaster-funds
. H-GAC will accept written comments through 4 p.m. Friday, July 6. Comments can be made online, mailed to H-GAC (Attention Jeff Taebel), or hand-delivered. More information about the comment period and methods for delivering comments will be published online.
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The next
Clean Waters Initiative
(CWI) workshop will be from 2 to 4 p.m.
June 20,
at H-GAC Conference Room B and C, Second Floor.
The topic for this workshop is Water Quality and Public Health. It will include presentations on various diseases that may be caused through contact with contaminated water, and high-resolution mapping to identify standing water from failing septic systems as a potential source of mosquito breeding areas.
The CWI program offers workshops helping local governments, landowners, and residents develop effective strategies to reduce water pollution.
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Parks and Natural Areas Roundtable Field Trip - July 9
Speakers will include Marlon Conley with the Trust for Public Land, and Tim May, with Halff Associates, Inc. The group will discuss changes to the annual PNA awards timeline and recognition event. A roundtable discussion will follow the presentations.
The
Parks and Natural Areas Roundtable
serves as a forum for discussion of parks and natural areas in the H-GAC region and is open to anyone who would like to participate.
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Bringing Back Main Street Roundtable - July 24
Jaimie Masterson, Associate Director of
Texas Target Communities,
will discuss planning and technical assistance services available to small and rural communities.
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Housing for the Future: A Regional Conversation - August 17
This summit will bring together housing experts and local officials from across the region to discuss a broad vision for the region's housing and the specific strategies that can be used to increase housing availability, quality, and affordability across rural, suburban, and urban communities.
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H-GAC Updates Regional Flood Information Application with FEMA Blockgroup-level Data
To access this layer
- Go the Regional Flood Information Application,
- Click on the clipboard icon at the bottom of the application,
- Select the layer "FEMA Blockgroup-level Individual Assistance Housing,"and
- Click on any block group on the map for additional information
A
user guide
is available with instructions on accessing the features of the application.
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H-GAC Seeks Comments on West Fork Watershed Protection Plan
H-GAC released the draft Watershed Protection Plan for the West Fork San Jacinto River and Lake Creek watersheds. The draft is available at
www.westforkwpp.com under the project documents tab.
This planning document, based on scientific analysis and local knowledge, identifies water quality priorities and provides a list of voluntary solutions to improve water quality in the area.
H-GAC will accept comments through
Friday, June 15. For more information or to provide comments, contact
Justin Bower at
713-499-6653.
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H-GAC Launches Regional Data Lab Facebook Page
The H-GAC socio-economic modeling program recently launched a new Facebook page:
H-GAC Regional Data Lab to update the community about new and updated data-based applications, news, and events.
The H-GAC program
produces a variety of data-driven products and applications, such as
- the Regional Growth Forecast, an essential tool used by local governments in long-range planning, and
- Interactive Web Applications, easy to use tools focusing on community planning, demographics, economics, environmental planning, land use, and water quality.
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Resource Recycling Conference Grant Available
Strengthening Coastal Counties Resilience Challenge
The National Association of Counties, the Association of State Floodplain Managers, and the Coastal States Organization launched the
Strengthening Coastal Counties Resilience Challenge. Coastal counties from the Gulf of Mexico region with populations of less than 250,000 are invited to form teams to apply to receive technical assistance to help them identify ways to strengthen existing and implement new local plans and policies to increase resilience to extreme weather and climate-related hazards. Applications are due
Friday, June 15. Learn more and apply
online.
2018 EPA Region 6 Outstanding GI/LID Project Competition
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 is seeking abstracts for outstanding Green Infrastructure/Low Impact Development projects to be highlighted at the EPA Region 6 Stormwater Conference August 19-23 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Students and professionals are invited to submit abstracts by Monday, July 9. The call for project abstracts and competition rules are available online. For more information, contact Nichole Young at (214) 665-6447 or Suzanna Perea at (214) 665-7217.
NADO Innovation Awards
Each year, the National Association of Development Organizations recognizes member organizations that demonstrate innovative approaches to regional economic and community development through the Innovation Awards program. Previous award-winning projects have showcased innovative efforts in a variety of program areas including business and economic development, community health initiatives, emergency planning, brownfields, sustainability, technology, transportation, and workforce development. Applications are due Friday, July 20. For more information, contact Brett Schwartz or Laurie Thompson.
Texas Main Street Designation Application
The Texas Historical Commission is accepting applications from cities interested in becoming designated
Main Street Communities
. Each year, the Texas Historical Commission may select up to five cities for official Main Street Designation. Communities selected this year will enter the program in January 2019. Main Street is an economic development program focusing on small business development, using reuse of historic properties and historic preservation as primary tools. Full applications are due Tuesday, July 31. Main Street communities in the region are Bay City, Huntsville, Rosenberg, and Sealy.
STAR Summit Exhibitor, Sponsor Packets Available
State of Texas Alliance for Recycling (STAR) 2018 Summit exhibitor and sponsor packets are available for the annual conference set for October 28-31 in Galveston. Approximately 200 to 300 professionals representing private sector companies, government, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and trade associations attend the summit each year. The summit features educational sessions, equipment demonstrations, round table discussions, and training opportunities. Early exhibitor prices are good through Friday, June 15, and include discounted conference registrations. Various levels of sponsorships are available, and the deadline to guarantee sponsorship benefits is Wednesday, August 1.
Texas Sea Grant Community Resilience Collaborative
Trust for Public Land ParkServe
The Trust for Public Land (TPL) launched ParkServe, a comprehensive GIS database for park access, available free online. The tool, part of TPL's national campaign to ensure every person in America has access to a quality park, analyzes current access to parks in cities towns and communities nationwide.
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USDOT BUILD Grant Webinars
The
U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Transportation Discretionary Grants program
, formerly known as TIGER, is now open. To provide technical assistance to a broad array of stakeholders, USDOT will host a series of webinars during the grant application process. A webinar on how to compete for BUILD Transportation grants for all applicants will be held on
Thursday, June 5
; a webinar for rural and tribal applicants will be held on
Wednesday, June 6
; and a webinar on how to prepare a benefit cost analysis for a BUILD application will be held on
Wednesday, June 13
. All webinars will be from 1 to 3 p.m. and will be recorded and posted on the website for later viewing. The BUILD application deadline is Thursday, July 19.
Keep Texas Beautiful Conference
The
51st Annual Keep Texas Beautiful Conference will be
June 11-13 in Georgetown. This three-day, multi-track format offers attendees a variety of education sessions and interactive forums. Presentations are designed for all levels of experience, and KTB looks for a wide variety of topics.
TDA TxCDBG Workshop
Texas Department of Agriculture will host a TxCDBG 2018 Implementation Manual workshop in Huntsville at 8:30 a.m. on
Thursday, July 19, at the Walker County Storm Shelter, 455 Highway 75, Huntsville. Participants will receive their 2018 TxCDBG Administrator certification.
Registration is required.
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APA Foundation Harvey Recovery Grants for Planners
The American Planning Association Foundation issued a Disaster Recovery Request for Proposals to help
economically challenged and disaster-devastated communities affected by hazards such as floods, hurricanes, and wildfires.
Planners in communities affected by 2017 disasters are invited to apply for grants to assist them in efforts to help their communities recover.
More information, including details about eligibility, qualified activities, and other requirements is available online. Applications will be accepted through Monday, June 18, by email to Foundation@planning.org.
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Texas Water Development Board Flood Protection Grants
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has posted a request for applications (RFA) for $1.8 million in grants for flood protection planning, flood early warning systems, and flood response strategies.
Applications will be accepted until 2 p.m. on Wednesday, July 11, 2018. The TWDB anticipates announcing the recipients of the grant funding in September 2018.
All political subdivisions in Texas with the authority to plan for and implement projects related to flood protection are eligible to apply. The TWDB will review applications and award the grants based on criteria outlined in the RFA.
For additional information, please contact Ivan Ortiz at 512-463-8184 or
Ivan.Ortiz@twdb.texas.gov
.
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H-GAC Septic System Repair/ Replacement Funding Program
H-GAC has funding available for the repair or replacement of failing traditional or aerobic on-site sewage facilities (septic systems) in the H-GAC service region.
Funds are available to homeowners who meet certain income restrictions. No cost sharing is required. For more information, contact
Will Merrell at 713-993-4594.
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EDA Harvey
Recovery Grants
The U.S. Economic Development Administration's (EDA) Austin regional office received $129,119,000 in supplemental funding for disaster relief and is actively seeking projects to help communities in the Houston-Galveston region recover from Hurricane Harvey.
- Projects require a 20 percent match, which can include in-kind
- Typical projects will range from $1-$2.5 million
- First round of 14-15 applications anticipated to be funded by September 2018, with 1 or 2 subsequent rounds of funding
- Must demonstrate a nexus to Harvey, in terms of economic recovery or resilience
- Eligible applicants include governments, nonprofits, and universities
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All content, including links to websites, is for informational purposes only. Users of this content are responsible for checking its accuracy, currency, and suitability.
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Community and Environmental Planning Programs
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Mapping Applications
Looking for interactive applications or GIS data related to the H-GAC Community and Environmental Planning Department? Visit H-GAC's interactive applications web page to see the latest information, including Census, Regional Forecast, and more.
Facebook
Find the latest information about activities around the region at H-GAC's Twitter feed
@hgaccog. H-GAC's water resources program also offers Twitter updates on water quality issues in the region
@HGACwater.
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Would you like us to consider featuring your municipality, program, or regional photo on the C&E Planning Update banner? Just forward
Andrea Tantillo
your picture, along with some information about the subject and the photographer, and you might see it in a future month's newsletter.
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