A6 EZ RE K THEWASHINGTONPOST.FRIDAY,MAY 27 , 2022
becauseofunpaidpropertytaxes.
“It’s notjustaboutthe storm
drainage,” Hester said. “It’sabout
everything.”
Hester said thatthe rainbow-
huedoily waters hehad splashed
in whileplaying in thedrainage
ditchesasachild had beenpollut-
ed with cancer-causing creosote
usedtotreatwooden railroad ties
and utility poles. A2019state
health departmentinvestigation
confirmedelevated cancerrates
among residentsinthe southern
endofKashmereGardens,located
neartwo Superfundsites. Resi-
dents fear thatflooding will carry
toxic depositsintotheiryards.
Hester’s motherhad died of
cancer. So hadhis father.And one
of his brothers. “Cancer is killing
the whole neighborhood,”said
Hester,who is tooafraid to visit
the doctor abouthis ownhealth
problems.
Federal disaster mitigation
grants are supposed to improve
theinferiorfloodinfrastructurein
lower incomecommunities.But
theHUD investigation found that
competition rules setbythe Texas
GeneralLand Office unfairly fa-
vored smallertownswithlessur-
gent needs andwhere residents
are morelikely to be White and
less likely to be lower income.
Thestate knowingly adopted
scoring criteria thatprioritized
lower-density areasand excluded
communities thatHUD designat-
ed as the mostimpactedbydisas-
tersfromhalf the grants,HUD
said.
“Becausethe criteriahad these
unjustifieddiscriminatoryeffects,
their usefailedto complywith
HUD’s regulations,”the agency
found.
No otherstate adoptedTexas’
methodofdistributingthe funds,
accordingtoHUD’s Office of Fair
Housingand EqualOpportunity.
Theagencyconcluded thatwith-
out Texas’sdiscriminatorycri-
teria, nearly fourtimesasmany
Black residents and morethan
twice as manyHispanicresidents
would have benefitedfromthe
grants.
TheGeneralLandOfficesaidin
its April1appeal thatthe state
“does not discriminate, andthe
projectsithasfundedhelpminori-
ty beneficiaries across Texas.”The
statesaid more thantwo-thirdsof
residents in communities that re-
ceivedawardsare Black, Hispanic
or Asian. Thestate pointed out
thatits planwas approvedtwo
years agoand characterized
HUD’s newobjectionsas“politi-
cally motivated.”
In additiontoHoustonandsur-
roundingHarris County, the Gen-
eral Land Office deniedgrants to
the predominantlyBlackand His-
panic citiesofPortArthur,Beau-
montandCorpusChristiaswellas
Jefferson and Nueces counties—
all of whichexperienced signifi-
cantflooding from Harvey,ac-
cordingto the civil rightscom-
plaint. Texas Housers, anonprofit
focusedonhousinginlow-income
communities,and NortheastAc-
tionCollective, agrassrootsadvo-
cacygroup of Houstonresidents,
filed the complaintwithHUD last
year.
Instead, funds were steered
toward inland, Whitercommuni-
tiesthatwerefar less severely
impactedbyhurricanesand used
tofundroutineinfrastructure,the
complaint said. That includes
$17.5millionforanewcommunity
centerinCaldwellCountythatisof breath.
Thestate,which is appealing
HUD’s findings,denied discrimi-
nating,saying the Texas General
Land Office administeredthe fed-
eralgrantprogrambasedonHUD
approval.
ThesituationinTexas illus-
trates the challengefacing the
Biden administration,which has
pledged to focusonracial equity
butisstrugglingtoprotectlow-in-
comecommunitiesofcolorfrom
the growing threat of climate
change. Even after HUD’sfinding
of discrimination,the agency said
it does not have the poweratthis
timeto suspend the restofthe
$4.3 billion in disaster mitigation
moneyawardedtothestateunder
criteria approved by the Trump
administration.
“Whatishappening here with
these federal dollars going
throughthe stateand not one
dimecomingtothe City of Hous-
ton post-Hurricane Harvey is ab-
solutelycrazy,and it cannotbe
justified,” saidHoustonMayorSyl-
vesterTurner.“WhatdoIsaytothe
peopleinKashmere Gardens
whenthese stormskeep coming,
and we are not putting in the
infrastructure thattheydesper-
ately needtomitigatethe risk of
futureflooding?”
Black and Hispaniccommuni-
tiesinnortheast Houston,includ-
ing KashmereGardens,are espe-
cially vulnerable to themorefre-
quentstorms and catastrophic
floodingexpected due to climate
change, according to theFederal
Emergency ManagementAgency.
Many of theresidentialstreets
lackcurbs and gutters —common
stormdrainage infrastructure in
predominantlyWhite neighbor-
hoods in Houston —and rely in-
steadonopen ditches datingback
to the 1930s.
“Sometimeswe can’tget out
becausethe water is so high,”said
Jackie Spradley,Hester’s wife.
“You’reliterally trapped until the
water starts to subside.”She can’t
gettowork. Their 12-year-old
daughtercan’tgettoschool.
Thewhooshoftrafficandtrains
permeates the triangularneigh-
borhoodof modestsingle-family
homespenned between twohigh-
ways and twosetsofrailroad
tracks. Duringlargestorms,run-
offfromimpervious highwaysur-
faces flowsonto streets.
Pilesof trash —old tires, mat-
tresses, furniture,home insula-
tion—accumulate for weeksin
the drainageditches along many
streets, blockingwater from flow-
ing throughthe ditchestothe
bayou. Silt and otherdebris clog
manyofthe culverts beneath nar-
row driveways and footpaths.
Standingsummerwater breeds
mosquitoes.
ThecityofHouston had hoped
touse$95millioninfederalgrants
to upgrade KashmereGardens’
storm drainageinfrastructure.
Theproposedimprovements, in-
cludingconvertingsomeofthe
ditches to acurb and gutter sys-
tem,wouldhaveremovedthe
flood risk to nearly 1,400 proper-
ties. But withoutthe money, the
cityshelvedthose plans.
Hester’s daughterAshleiwas 7
yearsold in 2017 whenHarvey
floodwaters breached their family
room, lapping at the legsofthe
cardtable on whichthe family
played dominoes. Hercough
worsened, and doctors prescribed
four differentmedications for
asthma. She washospitalized in
2018 for morethanaweek. But
doctors still did not knowwhat
wascausingher illness.
It wasn’tuntil December 2019,
morethantwo yearsafter Harvey,
whenHesterand his wifediscov-
eredtheblackmoldthatwasmak-
ing their daughter so sick. Acity
inspector recommendedthatthe
housebe condemned.
“Iwassoashamed,” Hestersaid.
“Wedidn’t have nowhereelse to
go.”
Hismother had purchased the
home in 1960, paying themort-
gagewithwages from her jobflip-
ping burgers 16 hours aday.
Hester was borninthe house
monthslater.
Hehadstayedinthehouseafter
Hurricane Aliciaflooded the
homein1983. And after Ikein
- Even after Harvey,Hester
stayed, hopingtosomeday pass
the three-bedroom ranch-style
homeontohis daughter.
But Hester,who is on disability
forherniateddisksinhisbackand
neckfromhis yearsas along-haul
truck driver,and his wife,who
sells insurance,never hadthe
moneytoadequately repairthe
storm-ravaged roof and mold-
covered walls.
Hester said the cityinformed
himafterHarveythathewasineli-
gible for fundingtofix thehome
HOUSTONFROMA
‘Every time
it rains,
Iget ... out
of Dodge’
Sources:National WeatherService, Departmentof Housingand Urban Development
and TexasHousers
KEVIN SCHAUL/THEWASHINGTON POSTNote:Tyler Countywas aTexas-designated area but aproject within it was
awarded as aHUD-designatedarea project.HowTexas directedfederalfundsTexas7-dayrainfall,inches7-dayrainfallduring HurricaneHarveyAreas eligiblefor fundsWhereminoritiesliveWherethe funds went0 1020304050HurricaneHarvey devastated
southeastTexasin2017,
promptingHUD to allocate
billionsof dollarstothe state
tomitigatefuturestorm
risks.HUDdesignated these
areasas eligiblefor funds.
Texasadditionally
designated theseareas.
The statedecidedto split
about$1 billionin half
betweenHUD-and
Texas-designatedareas.But the populationsof these
two areas arewildly different
—especiallyby race.
TheTexas-designated
areasas awhole are
majorityWhite, whilethe
HUD-designated areasare
majoritypeopleof color.Becausethe fundsweresplit
in half,areas with more
peopleof color received
disproportionatelyless
funding. HUD foundthe plan
to be raciallydiscriminatory
but has allowedTexasto
continuespendingthe funds.Gulf
of
MexicoMinoritypopulation
100K 1MGulf
of
MexicoGulf
of
MexicoFunds awarded
$10M$100MTexas-designated
areasHUD-designated
areasFunds distributedin
HarrisCountywent
exclusivelyto the
suburbsof Houston.
The city receivednothing.HoustonAustinTEXASSanAntonioCorpusChristiHoustonAustinTEXASSanAntonioCorpusChristiHoustonAustinTEXASSanAntonioCorpusChristiHoustonAustinTEXASSanAntonioCorpusChristisupposed to doubleasanevacua-
tioncenter;$10.8milliontoinstall
asewagesysteminthe379-person
townofIola;$6million for anew
sheriff’sdepartmentradio tower
and radios forGonzales County;
and $4.2 million fora2,000-foot-
longroad in Bastrop Countyto
connect aWalmartparking lot
and aHome Depot, justified as an
alternatepathforemergencyvehi-
clesincasetheadjacentfreewayis
cloggedwithhurricane evacuees
fromthe Gulf Coast 161 miles
away.
“Thesemitigationfundsare a
strategytoundo the systemic rac-
ismofthepast,butthat’snotwhat
we’reseeing Texas interested in at
all,”saidJohnHenneberger,co-di-
rector of Texas Housers. “This is a
testofhow seriousHUD and the
Biden administration are in en-
forcing civilrights.”
HUD’s Office of Community
Planning and Development,
whichoverseesdisaster mitiga-
tionaid,wrote to theTexas Gener-
al Land Office in March express-
ing “graveconcerns” overthe dis-
tribution of the firstroundof
grants.“TheState has notidenti-
fiedaplantoprotectcommunities
while guardingagainstcompeti-
tioncriteria that coulddisadvan-
tageminorityresidents,”HUD
wrote.Ifavoluntaryresolution
cannotbereached,HUD said it
could refer the matter to theDe-
partment of Justice forenforce-
ment.
But advocates worrythatcould
cometoolateforcommunitieslike
KashmereGardens.
While HUDsaiditcannot stop
thestatefromawardingtherestof
thegrants“duetopriordecisions,”
it would begin monitoringhow
the moneyisdistributedand
warneditcouldclawback the
funds if necessary.
“Texas hasahistoryofsending
moneytothosewhoarepolitically
connected,”said Shannon Van
Zandt,aprofessor of urban plan-
ningatTexas A&MUniversity
whoseresearch focusesonhazard
reductionand housing.She noted
thatracialdisparities occurred
withthe distribution of disaster
fundsafterHurricaneIkein2008.
Civil rights advocates sayHUD
has the authoritytosuspendTex-
as’sabilitytospend federalgrant
money;ithasdonesounderprevi-
ous administrations. But Sara
Pratt,formerdeputyassistantsec-
retaryinHUD’s fairhousingoffice
whois now representing Texas
Housersasanattorney, saidthere
is long-standing division among
HUDstaffoverenforcing civil
rights violationswhen making
fundingdecisions.
“Thereisdeepdisagreementin-
ternally,” Prattsaid.“Thesecre-
tary’sjobistoresolvedisputeslike
this.”
HUDSecretaryMarciaL.Fudge
declinedtocommentbecausethe
Texas investigation remainsopen,
HUDspokesmanMichael Burns
said. “Her commitmenttocivil
rights and fair housing is well
documentedandunwavering,and
she is committed to ensuring that
all HUDfundsare used in compli-
ancewithall relevantlawsand
programrequirements,” Burns
said.
In responsetowidespreadcriti-
cismoverhowthefirst$1billionin
Harvey disaster grants was dis-
tributed,Texas now plansto allo-
cate $750 million to Harris Coun-
ty.Houston is due to receive an
additional $9 million out of$488million thatthe stateplans
to send to theHouston-Galveston
region.Cityofficialspointoutthat
the $9 million amounts to less
thanone tenth of thecostofits
proposedimprovementstoKash-
mereGardens.
In Kashmere Gardens on are-
centmorning after athunder-
storm inundated streetside drain-
ageditches, bulldozers and dump
trucks worked to widenand deep-
en Hunting Bayou to absorb run-
offfromfuturestorms.
Thework is asmall portion of a
$2.5 billion floodprotection bond
thatHarrisCountypassedin2018.
Thebulk of the bondmoney was
directed to wealthier neighbor-
hoods because the countyexpect-
edtoreceivefederaldisasterfunds
for poorer ones, according to
countycommissionerRodney El-
lis.But without money to upgrade
the ditchsystemtodrain storm
water fromneighborhoodstreets,
it’s unclearif thebayou expansion
willbeeffective.
“This is theTexas two-stepin
Houston.Youhavetogetthewater
from theneighborhoodstothe
bayous. And then youhavetoget
the water fromthe bayous to the
Gulf ofMexico,” said Ellis, who
represents thearea.
Residents remain skeptical.
“It’sawaitand see situation,”
said DorothyWanza, another
Kashmere Gardens resident
whose streetturnedinto ariver
during Harvey and floodedher
home withmore thanafoot of
water. Theexperience left the 80-
year-old so traumatizedthat“ev-
erytime it rains, Iget thehell out
of Dodge.”
She spentthe previousnight
fully dressed, prepared to evacu-
atetoone of her children’s homes.
“The ditchesoverflow,and once
theyarefull,thewatercomesback
onyou,”Wanzasaid.
On theother side of thebayou,
Hester said the cityhad recently
cleanedout partofaditchlining
hisstreetforthefirsttimehecould
recall in morethanadecade.Dirt
and bricksstillblock someof the
culverts.
“Right up under there, look,” he
said, pointing beneath the con-
cretewalkwayleadingfromthe
streettohis front yard. “It’s
stoppedup on both sides.”
He nodded fartherdownthe
streettoanother culvert:“That
whole drain hole was flooded.”He
and his next doorneighborhad
removed as manybricks as they
couldto move thewater through.
“Ifwedon’tdothingsaroundhere,
ain’tnothing goingtoget done.I
have to go around here and tryto
help,andI’minbadshapemyself.”
Hester limpedaroundthe pe-
rimeterofhis homeand pointed
twofeetupthe siding whereHar-
veyfloodwaters hadreached—a
reminder of the catastrophehe
sayshefailedtoprotecthisdaugh-
ter from.
Anonprofithad removedthe
moldinsidewhen it fixed up the
housein2020,installingnewcabi-
nets, anew roof and laminate
flooring.
Butthe entryway still slopes.
Thefloorjoists need to be re-
paired. Theporch is lopsided,its
wood rotted.
Hester is stoopedfrom yearsof
pain.Yetheremains intenton
doingwhat he can to makethings
right.
“It’snot my life I’mworried
about. It’s my daughter’s,” Hester
said.“I’mhalf dead.”JUANLOZANO/ASSOCIATEDPRESSLawrence Hester tellshis grandson about the damage
HurricaneHarveycaused to his home.Black moldinfiltrated the
walls, exacerbatinghis young daughter’sbreathingproblems.