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Photo cutline: Col. Timothy Vail (far left) and Gulf Coast Protection District (GCPD) Executive Director Nicole Sunstrum (second from right) sign a partnership agreement for an Orange County flood mitigation project as Morgan’s Point Mayor and GCPD President Michel Bechtel (second from left) and Orange County Judge John Gothia (far right) watch.
Orange County and state leaders recently celebrated the signing of a project partnership agreement (PPA) for the Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay Program (S2G) Orange County Project, a plan to construct a new coastal storm risk management system in Orange County.
According to the county, there is currently no large-scale coastal risk management system protecting its residents and businesses, as well as critical infrastructure and industry. The Orange County Project will include construction of a levee/floodwall system designed to reduce the risk of storm surge and flooding. Crews working on the planned system will be building approximately 15 miles of new earthen levees and about 10 miles of new concrete floodwalls, according to S2G.
Local and state government representatives, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) personnel and community stakeholders gathered at the Orange County Expo Center in Orange on April 29 for a signing ceremony to seal the deal between USACE and the Guld Coast Protection District. Col. Timothy Vail, District Engineer and Commanding Officer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District, and Gulf Coast Protection District Executive Director Nicole Sunstrum signed the PPA, receiving a standing ovation as the ink dried on the official agreement.