Energy & Environment

The Big Story

Flood survivors decry ack of aid, 'toxic pit' conditions

Communities hit by the deadly Independence Day floods face a desperate and confused recovery bereft of state and federal aid, survivors told a field hearing of the Texas Legislature in Kerrville on Thursday.

With no resources to drain Lake Ingram, it "has become a toxic pit," resident Ann Carr told the legislators.

"We've talked to divers that have been out there. They have found vehicles. We have asked them direct questions, 'Are there bodies in the water?' Their answers are yes," Carr said.

Now, the city of Kerrville is refusing to drain the lake, which bubbles with oil from submerged automobiles, Carr said. With $28 billion in the state rainy day fund, she added, "I think the state of Texas can help us clean our lake out."

Others pointed to the consequences of the catastrophic flood damages, which hit a region where about 99 percent of residents didn't have flood insurance.

With as much as $25 billion in uninsured losses, "many landowners are at high risk of losing their land," said Terri Hall, a Kerrville resident who runs an anti-property tax group.

Hall said landowners lost outbuildings that neither insurance nor the Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay for, leaving them as easy pickings for private equity. The affected areas, she said, "have a high vulnerability to having big corporations like BlackRock swoop in and buy up our beautiful riverfront and turn Kerr County into something that we won't recognize."

Welcome to The Hill's Energy & Environment newsletter, I'm Rachel Frazin — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.

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