Panther Island board rejects federal money for feasibility study of Fort Worth project
This story has been updated to clarify comments from Councilman Carlos Flores.
Fort Worth officials behind the $1.17 billion Panther Island project will reject $1.5 million the federal government set aside to study the feasibility of the Trinity River bypass channel.
Such a study is unnecessary as the project received Congressional authorization without it, Lee Christie, an attorney for the Trinity River Vision Authority, said in a memo dated Wednesday. Typically Army Corps of Engineer projects like the Trinity River effort receive feasibility studies, but the study was not included in the 2005 authorization. The project was reauthorized for up to $526 million in 2016 using a private study.
The need to study the feasibility of the project, which aims to cut a 1.5-mile bypass channel between the two forks of the Trinity River, has been hotly debated since at least 2018 when it became clear the Trump Administration would not prioritize the project.
Local officials have maintained that the study is not needed because Congress approved the project and because some work, including environmental clean up and utility relocations, have begun. Christie’s memo reinforces these contentions.
“Participating in the proposed new feasibility study on the same authorized project, studying the same problems that are currently being implemented, is not only ineffective but inappropriate, unnecessary and of duplicate effort,” the memo read.
The Army Corps of Engineers headquarters included the $1.5 million in its 2020 budget in February. Local officials were confused about the allocation then, saying they had not received direction from Washington about what kind of study was needed. Another $1.5 million would also be needed from the Tarrant Regional Water District.
The money originated with the White House Office of Management and Budget. In a February interview with the Star-Telegram U.S. Rep Kay Granger blamed then-director Mick Mulvaney for delays with the project. Mulvaney became the Special Envoy for Northern Ireland in March.
Questions about the $1.5 million have been mostly unanswered since the Corps received the money. The money had to be used by Sept. 30.
Mark Mazzanti, a former Army Corps of Engineers official who is coordinating the local effort for Panther Island, recommend in August the Trinity River Vision Authority ignore the allocation.
Mazzanti and Jim Oliver, Tarrant Regional Water general manager, told the board they had spoken with local Corps officials. A lack of clarity about whether the local position had been made known to federal officials prompted city manager David Cooke, a Trinity River Vision Authority board member, to request it in writing.
That board approved the memo Wednesday and the Star-Telegram obtained a copy shortly after. The board did not discuss the memo during the meeting.
To date, the Army Corps has not sent the water district and other local partners, which includes the city of Fort Worth, a request or proposal for a new study, according to the memo. The local Corps office has also not received any guidance from the Washington headquarters.
When Congress authorized the Panther Island project for $526 million in funding 2016, it cited a University of North Texas study completed in 2014 as sufficient for proving its economic benefits. The UNT study revealed a 1.99 to 1 benefit-to-cost ratio, based on an expected $1.8 billion flood control benefit, compared to $907 million in cost. The Trump Administration has said projects require a 2.5 to 1 benefit-to-cost return on investment.
Since the project’s inception, Washington has provided about $62 million. Local taxpayers have spent more than $320 million. The Army Corps had requested $38 million for 2020.
Whether the project receives funding for next year likely won’t be known until February when the Corps’ work plan is released, Mazzanti said.
Panther Island bridges
During an update on the three bridges that will be needed once the channel is done, Doug Rademaker, a senior project manager for the city, told the board work was proceeding smoothly.
In July and September, the Star-Telegram reported that bridges for North Main and Henderson could be done ahead of their scheduled December 2021 date. Rademaker said Wednesday that at least North Main would be done “far earlier,” but didn’t provide a specific date.
The bridge for White Settlement Road, which doesn’t have a detour causing a pain for nearby businesses, is still on track to be done by the end of the year.
Officials have previously said traffic could flow over the bridges before work is totally done.
Fort Worth Councilman Carlos Flores, a Trinity River Vision Authority Board member, said during the meeting city staff had suggested not publicly advertising the opening of the North Main bridge.
“Let it be surprise, a pleasant one at that,” he said.
This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
