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DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News) — While the hard work of repairing lives disrupted by Hurricane Harvey is barely underway Texas leaders are trying to prepare for future natural disasters.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has put together a joint committee to investigate implementation of a system of gates and barriers along the Gulf coast to prevent storm surge damage. Senators Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood) and Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) will serve on the committee.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Joe Straus is asking the Texas Appropriations Committee and the House Committee on Natural Resources to find ways to plan and pay for infrastructure projects that can reduce future storm damage.
It’s not the first time committees have been formed for this purpose but those efforts never gained traction in the legislature. On KXAN-TV’s (Austin) State of Texas program Texas Tribune reporter Kiah Collier explained, “There’s been a conversation since Hurricane Ike in 2008 about a coastal barrier that the Houston area needs to block the nation’s largest refining and petrochemical complex.”
Patrick hopes Harvey will serve as a wake up call.
