Funding, Regulatory, and Private Property Right Issues Encountered by a Small Coastal Community 1

Village of Surfside Beach Brazoria County, Texas General Law city 763 permanent residents per 2000 census 3000 to 5000 beachgoers per week during summer season Four (4) miles of maintained beach within Village limits 1000 structures Economy is tourism 1996 to named events and several un-named FEMA Public assistance on 3 named events linear foot area adjacent to Freeport Jetties eroding 10 to 13 feet per year 2

Issues Accelerated erosion over the past 5 years Non - compliance with the Open Beaches Act Public Access Hard Structures on the public beach seaward of the line of vegetation Environmental issues USACE and Texas General Land Office (GLO) permits Funding Small budget in dealing with grant matches Private Property Rights Law suits against the State of Texas and the Village 3

Accelerated Erosion 50,000 cubic yards of sand per year 300,000 cubic yards over the last five years 4

Non-compliance with Texas Open Beaches Act Hard Structures on the Beach and Public Access Bulkheads, Rip Rap, Structures 5

Funding Coastal Erosion Protection Response Act (CEPRA) Regulated by the Texas General Land Office Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) Regulated by the Texas General Land Office FEMA Public Assistance Regulated by FEMA and Texas Dept. of Emergency Management (DEM) Hazard Mitigation Grant (HMG) Regulated by FEMA and Texas Dept. of Emergency Management (DEM) Office of Rural Community Affairs (ORCA) Regulated under Texas Community Development Block Grant Program (TxCDBG) 6

Private Property Rights Fair compensation for removal and loss of property Argument of natural erosion vs. man made erosion Definition of rolling easement Restoration of utilities Ability to make repairs Attorney fees and loss of rental revenue Law suits against the Texas General Land Office Law suits against the Village of Surfside Beach 7

Tropical Storm Josephine Oct. 96 No emergency rules from the GLO Repairs of structures and septic systems were allowed which set a precedent in the eyes of the home owners for following events 8

Tropical Storm Frances Sept. 98 Emergency rules put into effect by GLO Certain repairs were allowed 16 homes without septic were tagged as uninhabitable Declared a disaster and FEMA Public Assistance made available Project Work Order for beach re-nourishment Village put in Sewer System Phase I for affected area a year later with monies assessed to affected property owners and using CDBG funds 9

1999 through 2001 Removal of 2 structures using ORCA and Local funding CEPRA I 1999 & CEPRA II 2001 Beach Renourishment and Sand Fencing Projects using FEMA PWs as match 10

Tropical Storm Fay Sept Continued ErosionEmergency Rules for Repairs 11

Hurricane Claudette July 2003 Emergency rules for repairs Declared a disaster FEMA PA funding available Project Work Order for beach re-nourishment Improved Project Work Order for shoreline protection CEPRA III funding applied for as 25% match 12

Hurricane Ivan Sept

Hurricane Katrina 2005 Breached a bulkhead Major erosion Undermining of slabs of houses on the beach Exposed debris Emergency Rules filed by Texas General Land Office 14

Hurricane Rita Sept 2005 Extreme erosion and loss of elevation Breached bulkhead gone and more debris exposed Major structural repairs required Additional erosion and debris exposed from effects of Hurricane Stan two weeks later Declared disaster FEMA Public Assistance FEMA PW for $650,997 Beach Re-nourishment CEPRA IV $2.3M beach re-nourishment funds withdrawn due to dramatic change in beach CIAP funds for walkover repairs Applied to ORCA & HMG for acquisition of structures seaward of the line of vegetation 15

Hurricane Rita 16

Village of Surfside Beach, Texas 37 Homes on public beach to be removed under Texas General Land Office Moratorium Order 17

Oct – un-named event Two (2) days of extreme bull tides Remaining bulkhead breached Continued erosion and loss of elevation Infrastructure lost - water line and sewer lines Lost 15 feet of the seaward shoulder along Beach Drive Placed $44,000 of rock to protect remaining street No emergency rules except temporary repair of stairs for access to remove property No FEMA assistance 18

October Un-named Event 19

Projects CEPRA grant for debris removal – $187,500 HMG project for acquisition of 14 structures located seaward of LOV – $562,500 ORCA grant for acquisition match – $130,000 CEPRA IV grant for demolition and debris removal – $74,809 GLO implemented Relocation/Removal CEPRA program for property owners of up to $50,000 FEMA improved project for shoreline protection Revetment wall to protect the street and infrastructure 20

CEPRA IV Grant – Debris Removal 21

Hazard Mitigation Grant Project for acquisition of 14 structures located seaward of the line of vegetation 22

ORCA Grant used to match the HMG Grant and CEPRA IV funds used for demolition/debris removal costs - 100% funded 23

Texas General Land Office CEPRA IV Project Relocation of Structures 24

Status of Projects 37 structures ordered to be removed HMG/ORCA/CEPRA Grants - Nine (9) of the fourteen (14) structures were acquired and demolished Eleven structures relocated under GLO program Debris and bulkheads removed FEMA PW for shoreline protection – revetment wall to protect Beach Drive approved $1,529,474 25

Federal, State, and Local Law Suits Plaintiffs lost suit against the State and Village in Galveston District Federal Court Plaintiffs lost suit against the State and Village in Brazoria County District Court Removal of structures ordered GLO offering CEPRA V Relocation/Removal grants to property owners of up to $50,000 To date three property owners have applied Village requested additional funding from HMG for further acquisition/demolition under Waco Disaster and NOI accepted with offer to apply for funds 26

Solutions Removal of all structures Have a USACE permit in place and/or a letter stating they have no jurisdiction in project area Environmental studies and surveys in place Placement of revetment to protect infrastructure Feasibility study for a long term solution Large beach re-nourishment project Funding for a 3 to 5 year beach re-nourishment plan Near shore structure to contain sediment 27

Surfside Beach July

September 2006 accelerated erosion continues 29