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GALVESTON, Texas – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Galveston District, Real Estate Division will be going door-to-door in Orange County on Oct.15, 2020, to secure rights-of-entry from individual landowners in order to access property as part of the Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay, Texas Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) and Ecosystem Restoration Project. The rights-of-entry are necessary to conduct various investigative activities (surveys, cultural resource investigations, geotechnical investigations). These investigative activities support the transition from conceptual designs to implementable project features and are necessary to continue to move conceptual designs forward to construction and these rights of entry are valid for up to 12 months. Landowners can specify that they want to be called before we access their property. USACE Galveston District personnel, and District-hired contractors, comply with those requests.

All individuals associated with this door-to-door activity will have U.S. Army Corps of Engineers credentials, which will be displayed on their person for ease of identification. In addition, once the ROE is signed, the landowners can ask to see the ROE from the government contractors. We provided copies of the signed ROEs to the contractors prior to doing work and some also have signs on their vehicles to indicate they are contractors for USACE.

The purpose of the Sabine to Galveston project is to enhance energy security, reduce the risk to human life and critical infrastructure, maintain and restore coastal habitat, and identify opportunities to enhance existing hurricane protection systems as part of the District’s comprehensive plan to increase Texas coastal resilience against the intense storms that frequently strike the 400-mile coastline.

USACE, in conjunction with their non-federal sponsor the Orange County Drainage District (OCDD), is leading the pre-construction, engineering, and design (PED) and construction of the Orange County portion of the Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay Coastal Storm Risk Management Project in coordination with the OCDD and Orange County. The entire project includes 15.6 miles of new levees, 10.7 miles of new concrete floodwalls and gates, 7 new pump stations to mitigate interior flooding during surge events, 433 acres of marsh restored through a mitigation plan and 560 acres of forested wetlands preserved.

The Orange County Coastal Storm Risk Management Project is a component of the Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay, Texas Coastal Storm Risk Management and Ecosystem Restoration Project which includes project areas in Freeport and Port Arthur. The Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay project is separate from the Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration Feasibility Study, but both are components of Galveston District’s comprehensive plan to increase Texas coastal resiliency.