FY2024
Member Designated Community Project Requests - FY2024
U.S. Representative Randy Weber submitted the following FY2024 Community Project Funding Member requests to the House Committee on Appropriations in April 2023:
Click each project name to download the Member certification form for each project.
Project Name: Beaumont Wastewater Treatment Plant
Request Amount: $2,880,000
Intended Recipient: City of Beaumont
Address of the Intended Recipient: P.O. Box 3827 Beaumont, Texas 77704
Explanation of the request: The funding would be used for the rehabilitation of one of the two retention ponds at the City of Beaumont Wastewater Treatment Plant. Work involves the removal of accumulated solids, re-grading the pond bottom, and installing new aeration equipment. Pond 2 was designed to have fourteen floating aerators. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the project is important to helping the city meet federal water quality mandates and also serves to increase resiliency from future weather events.
Project Name: Brazosport Water Authority Waterline to Angleton
Request Amount: $79,160,000
Intended Recipient: Brazosport Water Authority
Address of the Intended Recipient: 1251 FM 2004, Lake Jackson, Texas, 77566
Explanation of the request: The funding would be used for a critically needed 11.6-mile waterline from the water treatment plant into the City of Angleton to support community and economic sustainability and resilient growth. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because access to clean potable water is one of the most underestimated assets to assure the sustainability and resilience of communities (especially in rural areas). It is the singlemost critical resource for nurturing and promoting both economic and community growth within rural areas.
Project Name: Carver Park Neighborhood to Port Corridor Improvement
Request Amount: $3,000,000
Intended Recipient: Board of Trustees, Galveston Wharves
Address of the Intended Recipient: 123 Rosenberg Avenue, Galveston, Texas 77553
Explanation of the request: The funding would be used to rehabilitate an adjacent port lease area, install intersection safety enhancements for pedestrians, and improve the streetscape. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the project will improve economic development opportunities in the area by making access to the Port and local businesses easier and safer.
Project Name: City of La Marque Water Line Replacement
Request Amount: $4,000,000
Intended Recipient: City of La Marque
Address of the Intended Recipient: 1111 Bayou Road, La Marque, Texas 77568
Explanation of the request: The funding would be used to replace 2-inch diameter water lines in the City of La Marque. The current lines are outdated, undersized, and inefficient. In addition, the current lines are functionally 1-inch in diameter due to corrosion, which is resulting in a public health hazard. The water lines will be upgraded with 6- to 8-inch pipes that will reduce water loss, while improving fire protection and water quality. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the improvements will result in better fire protection, water pressure, and water quality for residents of La Marque. The project has public health and environmental benefits, through the reduction of water loss that will result from implementation of this project.
Project Name: City of West Columbia to implement a strategic local street rehabilitation program
Request Amount: $2,400,000
Intended Recipient: City of West Columbia
Address of the Intended Recipient: 512 East Brazos Avenue, West Columbia, Texas 77486
Explanation: The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it would provide new pavement and reset the life cycle of local streets. Reconstruction of the 6.5 miles of poor-condition roads will mitigate over $1 million in vehicle operating benefits alone, throughout the pavement life cycle. Additionally, replacing these failing roads will address the state of good repair, safety, and economic developmental goals consistent with the City’s vision to improve the quality of life for its residents.
Project Name: Coastal Texas Study
Request Amount: $100,000,000
Intended Recipient: Texas General Land Office
Address of the Intended Recipient: 1700 North Congress Avenue, Austin Texas 78701
Explanation of the Request: The funding would be used for the pre-construction engineering and design (PED) phase of the Coastal Texas Study, a program designed to reduce risks to public health and the economy, to restore critical ecosystems, and to advance coastal resiliency. The project is a collaboration of several large-scale coastal storm risk management (CSRM) and ecosystem restoration (ER) projects that will work in concert to create multiple lines of defense for the Texas coast.
Project Name: Federal Channel Operations and Maintenance Request
Request Amount: $9,630,000.00
Intended Recipient: Port of Texas City
Address of the Intended Recipient: 2425 Highway 146 North, Texas City, Texas 77590
Explanation of the Request: The funding would be used for dredging the Texas City Federal Channel. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because Texas City Channel supports the largest refinery in the United States. Key energy products such as crude oil, gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel, are moved through the Texas City Channel and the Port of Texas City daily. Thirty million net tons of energy cargo are moved annually as part of the federal Strategic Petroleum Reserve System, which depends on the Texas City Channel.
Project Name: First Responder Dual Use Hurricane Safe Room
Request Amount: $9,375,000
Intended Recipient: City of Galveston
Address of the Intended Recipient: 3016 Market Street, Galveston, Texas 77550
Explanation of the request: The funding would be used to design and construct a new fire station/hurricane safe room to provide near-absolute life safety protection to designated first responders and critical/essential services personnel that must remain on the island during mandatory evacuations. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because this project provides for near-absolute life safety protection for first responders and critical services personnel that must remain on the island during storms and hurricanes. These critical personnel are vital to the City’s response to, and recovery from, hurricanes and other storm events. Having such essential personnel safely housed on the island will ensure response and recovery operations can begin immediately after the storm passes, rather than being delayed by travel back to the island, debris removal to clear roadways, and the necessary post-storm inspection of the I-45 Causeway Bridge.
Project Name: Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW)
Request Amount: $260,000,000
Intended Recipient: Texas Department of Transportation
Address of the Intended Recipient: 6230 East Stassney Lane, Austin, Texas 78744
Explanation of the Request: The funding would be used for the GIWW, which is 423 miles long and has two floodgates at the intersection of the Brazos River (Brazos River East and West Floodgates) and two locks where it intersects the Colorado River (Colorado River East and West Locks). On average, 30 million tons of cargo, valued at $117 billion, passes through the locks and floodgates each year. These locks and floodgates, constructed in the 1940s, are severely outdated, frequently damaged, and too small for modern vessels and barges. The gates require frequent hazard mitigation measures which cause delays, increased emissions, and higher costs for shippers. Barges collide with the structures on average once every 5 days, leading to traffic restrictions while repairs are made. These floodgates are struck more often than any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) navigation structure in the nation. This project will construct new facilities with better aligned and wider navigation channels at the Brazos River Flood Gates. This project has a benefit-cost ratio of 2.5.
Project Name: Lower Clear Creek and Dickinson Bayou Flood Risk Management Improvements Feasibility Study
Request Amount: $1,500,000
Intended Recipient: City of League City
Address of the Intended Recipient: 300 West Walker Street, League City, Texas 77573
Explanation of the Request: The funding would be used for a feasibility study to further evaluate flood mitigation projects in the Lower Clear Creek and Dickinson Bayou watersheds. Feasibility will be used to determine if future federal funding is available for construction.
Project Name: Port of Beaumont Terminal Connectivity and Improvement Project
Request Amount: $7,200,000
Intended Recipient: Port of Beaumont Navigation District of Jefferson County, Texas
Address of the Intended Recipient: 1225 Main Street, Beaumont, Texas 77707
Explanation: The funding would be used to link the port terminals via a 4” thick asphalt paved road that will provide a stronger, safer, and more resilient roadway for the movement of oversized cargo, cranes, and other heavy equipment. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the project is an investment into critical port infrastructure that will provide a positive return, almost immediately.
Project Name: Sabine-Neches Waterway (SNWW)
Request Amount: $167,000,000
Intended Recipient: Sabine-Neches Navigation District (SNND)
Address of the Intended Recipient: 8180 Anchor Drive, Port Arthur, Texas 77642
Explanation of the Request: The funding would be used to deepen the SNWW to its full federally authorized depth of 48 feet, delivering on Congress' 2014 WRDA authorization.
Project Name: Transmodal Yard Demolition and Reconstruction
Request Amount: $15,487,969
Intended Recipient: Orange County Navigation and Port District
Address of the Intended Recipient: 1201 South Childers Road, Orange, Texas 77630
Explanation: The funding would be used for the demolition and reconstruction of the Port’s unstable transmodal yard. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the project will further utilize and expand its cargo transportation ability by allowing additional access to its existing wharfs. Better wharf access will provide more productive dock usage and allow more efficient cargo handling for clients. This increase in dock access will allow a greater tonnage of cargo to pass through the Port, thereby increasing support jobs both within the Port’s property and throughout the region.
Project Name: Transportation Infrastructure Fostering Community Based Job Creation
Request Amount: $8,000,000
Intended Recipient: Port of Port Arthur Navigation District
Address of the Intended Recipient: P.O. Box 1428 Port Arthur, Texas 77640
Explanation: The funding would be used for drainage improvements and construction of a 50,000 square foot multimodal transit shed providing enhanced rail and truck connectivity for marine cargo. It will support U.S. exports and U.S. manufacturing and local job creation. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the project will enhance the ports ability to move cargo and will not only benefit the community, but all parties involved.
Project Name: Velasco Terminal Sustainable Expansion Project
Request Amount: $16,000,000
Intended Recipient: City of Port Freeport
Address of the Intended Recipient: 1100 Cherry Street, Freeport, Texas 77541
Explanation: The funding would be used to construct a new 36,900 square foot (sf) cross-dock facility and a terminal gate. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because, in 2019, Texas ports handled 598 million tons of cargo, the first in the nation. Port Freeport is one of 11 deep water ports on the Texas coast and is the only port in Texas, other than Houston, which has post-Panamax capable container cranes. As such, Freeport is an essential member of the Texas ports system, generating $450 billion in total economic value each year.
