Feedback Wanted for Proposed Flood Infrastructure Fund Rules and Plan

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Mark Evans

Funding Specialist

Stakeholders have until mid-January to review and comment on the proposed Flood Infrastructure Fund rules and Flood Intended Use Plan.

The rules and the plan include information on eligibility, minimum standards, program timeline, financial assistance categories, prioritization criteria, and additional information. Comments on the rules should be submitted to the Texas Water Development Board at rulescomments@twdb.texas.gov, and comments on the Intended Use Plan should be submitted to Flood-IUP-Comments@twdb.texas.gov.  

The Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF) was established by the Texas Legislature and approved by Texas voters on Nov. 5 to assist in the financing of drainage, flood mitigation, and flood control projects. Administered by the TWDB, FIF allows loans at or below market rate to assist in grant and loan application preparation, engineering planning and design, and construction of structural and nonstructural flood mitigation projects. The FIF also offers grants to provide the necessary matching funds for local subdivisions to participate in various federal funding programs. 

In conjunction, the 86th Texas Legislature made a one-time transfer from the Economic Stabilization or “Rainy Day” Fund via Senate Bill 500 to the FIF and also passed Senate Bill 7, which outlines uses of the fund and creates the Texas Infrastructure Resiliency Fund to support the development of the first state flood plan and related flood science initiatives.

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Mark Evans is a Funding Specialist based in San Marcos, Texas.