Army Corps: Freeport coastal-storm project suspended; Velasco Drainage District advancing pump and levee work

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told the Freeport City Council on April 7 that the Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay coastal storm risk management project for Freeport is on suspension and that the Corps and local partners are finalizing a post-authorization change report to document a reduced scope.

The Corps’ project manager, Eddie Rigoin of the Galveston District, said the original Freeport plan called for raising about 13.1 miles of levees and constructing roughly 5.5 miles of floodwall, with final elevations “approximately from 15.8 feet to 23.” He told the council that, after discussions with the nonfederal sponsor (the Velasco Drainage District), the recommended updated scope reduces the levee work to about eight miles and the floodwall work to about two miles; a floodgate at the Dow Barge Canal remains in the proposed plan. Rigoin said the project has been suspended since April 2024 at the request of the Velasco Drainage District and that the Corps is preparing the required post-authorization change report (a "PACKR"/post-authorization change report) documenting those scope changes.

Rigoin described the Corps’ near-term technical steps: a levee screening (a “2S”) to quantify risk and expected performance under flood loads, with an estimated completion of about six months; and a more thorough levee safety oversight inspection program that the Corps expects to complete in about two to three years. He emphasized that the project is not deauthorized and that any future restart would require a new project partnership agreement between a nonfederal sponsor and the Corps.

Velasco Drainage District board member David Youngblood gave the district’s update after the Corps presentation. Youngblood said the district is pursuing a Section 408 coordination for an East Levee project and is adding three pumps, gearboxes and engines to increase pumping capacity at local stations. He said the district is undertaking an eight-year engine replacement program (with two new engines already purchased for North Freeport) and is performing targeted levee raising in low spots identified during FEMA certification work, noting the most significant local raising observed was about 1.5 feet.

Both presenters urged residents and council members to monitor the Corps’ public story maps and project web pages for updates; Rigoin said completed technical products would be shared with the nonfederal sponsor and the public. No council action was taken; both the Corps and the Velasco Drainage District described continuing technical work and options for future local participation.

Why it matters: the Sabine-to-Galveston project, as authorized, was intended to reduce storm-surge risk along the coast. Changes to scope and a sponsor-requested suspension shift near-term responsibility for local storm-risk reduction to district-level actions (pump improvements and targeted levee repairs) while the Corps documents the official scope change and risk profile.

Quotations

"The project has been on suspension status since last April of 2024," Eddie Rigoin, project manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said, describing the Corps’ work to complete a post-authorization change report.

"We're adding three additional pumps, gearboxes, engines," David Youngblood, Velasco Drainage District, said, adding that the district is also pursuing levee-raising work as part of FEMA certification efforts.

Ending

The Corps said the Freeport project is not deauthorized and could be restarted with a new partnership agreement; meanwhile, the Velasco Drainage District said it will continue phased pump and levee work to reduce local flood risk. The Corps and the district indicated technical reports would be released to the public when available.