Levee/border fence stalled again

It took Hidalgo County officials nine months to win their first battle against the federal government over the levee/border fence.

Now, at the start of another one, it is unclear how long it will take - or if they will even win this time.

The project that combines repairs to the county's flood protection system and construction of a border fence is stalled once again.

County leaders, U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission officials and U.S. Department of Homeland Security heads just agreed in January to combine the levee repairs and border fence projects. Both projects were tagged with a December deadline.

Since then, the final design was approved and the project ready to secure a contractor and begin construction by mid-April, said Godfrey Garza, Hidalgo County Drainage District 1 director, who oversees the levee repairs. For three weeks, the county has waited for IBWC to give the OK to put the project out to bid, Garza said.

But the battle is now shifted to what every problem inevitably comes down to: money.

Hanging on details

A year ago, county officials started saying they would seek federal reimbursement for local taxpayer dollars approved in a 2006 bond. They said about $10 million of the $100 million bond voters approved would be used to repair the levees; now, they're talking about as much as $60 million.

IBWC - the federal agency responsible for flood control and monitoring water treaties between the U.S. and Mexico - holds the ultimate control on giving the county permission to work on the levees and federal law does not allow them to reimburse local entities, top county officials said.

So for the first half of last year, county officials and IBWC were trying to figure out how to repay local officials for their work.

Finally in July, the two entered an agreement that made it clear that the drainage district does not expect to get reimbursed.

To access the levees to start doing testing and studies, the county had to sign the agreement, said Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas. He said his intention after that was to push federal legislation that would allow IBWC to pay them back or amend the July agreement.

A letter sent from IBWC's top official, Commissioner Carlos Marin, to Salinas on Feb. 27 expressed Marin's frustration that Salinas has repeatedly said in public that IBWC would reimburse the county. Marin stated in the letter that he could not move forward until the county said in writing that they would abide by the terms of the agreement, which include not being reimbursed - ever.

Salinas said he sent that acknowledgement March 3, but still will continue pushing for federal legislation. He said that one way or another, the county's levees need to be repaired.

"I'm sorry to say, but they are taking advantage of us," Salinas said. "It's very frustrating because we are ready to go.

"IBWC is holding up a project that they are the ones that are supposed to be fixing. If worse comes to worse, we still have to fix the levees."

IBWC spokeswoman Sally Spener would only say agency leaders are in discussions with county and DHS representatives.

"There are legal, technical and financial issues. I can't really expand on what they are," she said.

Official spat

The July agreement states that the county has funding for the repairs and will do them "without reimbursement or expectation of reimbursement" by IBWC or the federal government.

It goes on to state that "...the parties understand that the contributions ... are provided gratuitously and that no past, current or future" IBWC or federal funds will be made available to the district.

A letter dated Feb. 27 from Marin states that once the drainage district confirms in writing that it will abide by the agreement Marin can authorize any further work.

He also stated that county officials' "widely stated and public position on this matter makes it difficult for me to proceed with the work orders ...."

A response letter from Salinas dated Feb. 28 states "...the federal agency who is responsible for alleviating that (flood) risk is powerless to immediately offer any assistance.

"Meanwhile, some people in Hidalgo County are beginning to believe that the IBWC does not want the County and the Drainage District to eliminate the risk for reasons they cannot understand."

Spener could not say when the IBWC would make a final decision.

No set timeline

Meanwhile, DHS faces the same December deadline to finish construction of 670 miles of fencing to theoretically halt illegal immigration along the southern international border. About 22 miles of that is slated to be combined with Hidalgo's levee repairs.

DHS restated that the "proposal is a viable option and we continue to work with the IBWC and Hidalgo authorities to make the plan a reality," said Mike Friel, top spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is overseeing the border fence construction.

"There are some factors out of CBP control," he said. Friel did not elaborate on what those factors are and just said that federal legislation is needed for this project "to become a reality" and that "we want (the project) to happen."

U.S. Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, introduced legislation in December to allow IBWC to reimburse Hidalgo County.

On Sunday, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said the senator had just talked with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Friday about how to best resolve the funding issue.

Legislation is one solution, but not the only solution, spokesman John Drogin said. But there is no set timeline on when the issue will be decided, Drogin said.

County officials are racing the clock to fix the levees after Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said they would deem much of the county at flood risk driving up insurance costs and battling the upcoming June 1 start of the hurricane season.

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Jackie Leatherman covers Hidalgo County government and general assignments at The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4424.