U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

TransCanada Can Move Ahead With Texas Portion of Pipeline, But the Fight Isn't Over

Earlier this month, three East Texas hamlets with a collective population of fewer than 2,000 souls filed suit in a federal court in Oklahoma City to halt construction of the southern half of The International Pipeline Formerly Known as Keystone XL. The Keystone was to be a massive piece of infrastr ... More >>

North Texas Bets Big on Pumping from Lake Texoma

Environmentalists fear plan will let invasive zebra mussels spread.

Trinity Levees: Will the Feds' Money Crunch Leave Us Low and Wet?

​Am I in the happy-news business? Does a bear use air freshener in the woods? Look, I'm just bringing it to you like it is. As bad as the situation with the Trinity River levees may look locally, you should see what it looks like when you put it in perspective with national levee problems. We ... More >>

What Does City Hall Have to Say About Levee Report? No. Really. I'm Asking.

​This is Day Two of Trinity River levee stories from me, which I realize is Day Too Many, but ... well, sorry. I'm just sorry about it, but I cannot let this moment pass without making an observation. Possibly an observation and a half. It'll be over quickly. First, half an observation. I sta ... More >>

Take Time to Study Corps of Engineers' Massive Dallas Floodway Environmental Assessment

Click to enlarge this cross-section of the cutoff wall -- seen in this appendix -- the city and HNTB say will bring the levees back to acceptable.​Schutze's must-read of the winter has finally arrived: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Dallas Floodway Environmental Assessment, in which we finally ... More >>

It's Alive: Council to Get Trinity Corridor Transpo Update, Including That Dang Toll Road

​Speaking of transportation projects across and around the Trinity River ...Saturday's hike-n-bike installation perched atop the Cedar Crest Bridge is one of myriad items about which the city council's Trinity River Corridor Project Committee will hear this afternoon, following its field trip to a ... More >>

City 1, Corps 0 In Fight to Fix Trinity Levees

From Monday's briefing docs prepared for the council's Trinity River Corridor Project Committee​What you see above is the new plan to improve the Trinity River levees, which is markedly different than the one outlined on Page 46 of the April 2010 Dallas Floodway System briefing that showed the so- ... More >>

Insuring the Insurers: What Something Called "Faktor K" Could Mean for Big D

​Writer and radio journalist Julia Barton, a regular reader of Unfair Park, tipped me today to a really fascinating piece published September 1 by BusinessWeek, called "The God Clause and the Reinsurance Industry." It's about an arcane industry located in cities far from Dallas, but Barton spied t ... More >>

Hey, Mike Rawlings, Pick Up a Damn Paper, Will You?

Because in it, you'll find everything you need to say no to the Trinity River toll road.

Dallas City Hall Fights to Keep its Trinity Secrets

What's in the emails we can't see? Lots of bad stuff, no doubt.

City Sues Texas Attorney General to Keep From Releasing Trinity Project Docs We Requested

All your solar-powered water taxis are belong to us, says Dallas City Hall.​OK, now we're really curious. We're talking to you, Dallas City Hall, about those Trinity River project emails and memos you're fighting to keep us from seeing. What, has someone been unduly candid in his or her assessment ... More >>

Send us Your Earmark: Could Congress Turn off the Tap on Trinity Money?

Kosher Pork? One In a Series of Items About Flushing Money Down the Trinity River.

​Last week Friend of Unfair Park Shaggy predicted that the Tea Party will get over its aversion to congressional earmarks in however long it takes for the Triple R's (Really Really Rich People) to get Dick Armey to convey the new post-election marching orders down to the tri-cornered-hat persons: ... More >>

What Two Sentences in The WSJ Suggest About the Future of the Trinity River Project

U.S. Army Corps of EngineersFrom the Dallas Floodway Extension Project Description, this 1989 photo: "US175 blocked by water backed up into White Rock Creek. Normally, this is a busy traffic artery leading to the central business district."​Wilonsky sent me an interesting Wall Street Journal artic ... More >>

Sneak a Peek at the Flood Map Presentation Being Given to Trinity River Property Owners

​As you may recall, the city sent word last month that it needed to meet with Trinity River property owners to discuss those revised Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps, due to debut in February before the final ones are drawn up in December 2011 and go into effect in June 2012. West-si ... More >>

The City's Set to Meet With Trinity River Property Owners About FEMA's Flood Maps

This is the picture of the Trinity the city included in its FEMA floodplain remapping postcard.​Last week, Jim and Sam wrote all about how City Hall's done fed up to here with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and their demands that Dallas repair the hell out the Trinity River levees before they ge ... More >>

Take a Dip in the Trinity, Dry Off in Downtown

​Where to begin, where to begin as we sneak peek the council's week ahead? Perhaps at Jim's favorite destination -- the shores of the Trinity River. Tomorrow's meeting of the Trinity River Corridor Project Committee looks to be the most interesting in a long while, as the council starts adding up ... More >>

Is It Finally Curtains for the Trinity River Project?

The Trinity River Toll Road Exemptions

​Several Friends of Unfair Park are wondering this morning when Jim's going to weigh in on the news that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison added to the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010 two exemptions that will make it easier for the city to build the Trinity River toll road between the levees, no mat ... More >>

"Great Trinity Forest Funding Breakdown" Sounds Like One Hell of a Bluegrass Jam

​Alas, it's just the title of one of two briefings the Trinity River Corridor Project Committee will consider this morning. I'll leave it to Sam and Schutze to crunch the numbers and see if they add up -- Sam especially has a thing for the Texas Horse Park -- but according to the briefing, of the ... More >>

Mayor Tom Leppert Should Just Fess Up: The Trinity Toll Road Is Dead And Done

Now That Army Corps of Engineers Doesn't Want Trinity River Toll Road, It's Time to Shift the Blame: Preservationists!

​The story in today's Dallas Morning News about possible historic designation for the Trinity River levees falls squarely in the Unintentionally Hilarious category. It says the idea of building the Trinity River toll road project between the flood control levees may be in trouble because the U.S. ... More >>

"Public Safety and Flood Control Always Come First," Except When They Don't

​Earlier this morning, those among Mayor Tom Leppert's nearly 2,000 friends on Facebook were treated to a link to the city's Web site where they could find an official response to a recent story in The Dallas Morning News about the Trinity River Corridor Project. Turns out the statement is an ... More >>

Buzz Gives '09 a One-Fingered Wave Goodbye

Top 10 Schutze Columns of '09

​I know what you're thinking: The year is almost over, and I need more Schutze! More Schutze you say? Me too, which is why I took a look back at his columns from '09 and picked my 10 faves for your reconsideration and, well, appreciation. For those who don't remember the drill from last yea ... More >>

While Waiting for Corps' Report on Calatrava Bridge, a View from the Collapsed Levee

Photos by Patrick MichelsCrews are out at this very moment trying to repair a section of the Trinity River levees that collapsed yesterday.​Pins and needles here.At 2:30 pm the Corps of Engineers releases its report on the city's proposed fix for the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. They're doing it no ... More >>

Mayor Leppert Says Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge "Will Be Finished as Promised" As Corps of Engineers OKs Construction on Approaches

Photos by Sam MertenKevin Craig of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mayor Tom Leppert and council member Dave Neumann this afternoon at the Trinity Trust.​Supporters of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge breathed a collective sigh of relief this afternoon at the Trinity Trust as Mayor Tom Leppert ... More >>

The City of Dallas Has Enough Water to Last Till 2035. After That, Well ...

​It's never too early to look at next Wednesday's city council briefing, especially when one of the subjects on deck is where and how Dallas will get its water beyond 2035. Because, see, we're all good for the next years, give or take, but according to the briefing, "Even with conservation and reu ... More >>

When It Comes to the Trinity River Project, History Keeps Repeating Itself, Repeating Itself

John W. Carpenter Papers, Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Library,Ben Carpenter, son of John, is the one seen here pointing to a Trinity River canal master plan​Your Trinity River correspondent and advice-to-the-lovelorn columnist, which would be me, had two interesting e ... More >>

So, Turns Out, the City Knew About that Sand Beneath the Calatrava Bridge All Along

Uh-oh. I'm back in the sand. Just can't keep away from that stuff. I should see a doctor about my sand obsession. I will. Later.Right now I am staring at a table of Trinity River soil boring results I just received from the City of Dallas, and I am just aquiver with fascination. I see the smoke. I ... More >>

Would somebody just tell Mayor Leppert? His Trinity River toll road doesn’t have a prayer.

This Morning at City Hall, Mayor Tom Leppert Put Lipstick to Levee and Said It'll Be Fine

Sam MertenEddie Bernice Johnson and Kay Bailey Hutchison were the levees to Mayor Tom Leppert's Trinity River at City Hall this morning.It almost isn't possible to describe what Mayor Tom Leppert and a line-up of loyal politicos were trying to accomplish this morning in the Flag Room of Dallas City ... More >>

The Trinity River, 1908

Henry ClogensonA Friend of Unfair Park this morning was browsing the Library of Congress's archives and came across this Henry Clogenson photo of the Trinity River in 1908 -- "the flood of record," as Schutze describes it. So happens Jim has been making open records demands from the U.S. Army Corps ... More >>

Very Simply Put, the Trinity River's Levees Keep Looking Worse With Every Corps Answer

The Corps of Engineers tells Schutze, ya know, it's not quite sure how much sand's buried in the Trinity River levees. Well, I think I got some interesting stuff here.The city keeps telling people they're going to "fix" the Trinity River levees. Don't much think so. Looks to me like a whole lot of ... More >>

Angela Hunt: City in Serious Denial About Effect Corps' Report Has on Trinity Toll Road

For those willing to fight through the poor video quality, I condensed my footage from yesterday's city council meeting, where Angela Hunt and Mayor Tom Leppert had different ideas about how the report from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers affects the city's plans to jam a toll road in its flood ... More >>

The News Must Have Amnesia Regarding Mayor Leppert and the Toll Road. And Just What The Heck Does "At Risk" Really Mean?

Patrick MichelsMayor Tom Leppert with DMN writer Michael Lindenberger (right) ... we think.To my delight, I returned from vacation and discovered that the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Trinity Turnpike has finally been released. It would have been a nice read on the plan ... More >>

Corps Warns that Trinity River Levees Pose a Flood Risk to Downtown, but is City Hall Listening?

Destiny Does Dallas, or: Why the Corps' "Unacceptable" Levee Rating is a Blessing

Back during the campaign season for the 2007 referendum on the Trinity River toll road, Dallas Morning News columnist Steve Blow and I got into this really high-flown intellectual debate where I said, "Steve, you're stupid," and he said, "Jim, you're dumb," and I said, "Steve, you're a ninny," and ... More >>

Writes Angela Hunt Today: "The Fact Is, This Toll Road Project is Dead."

That's the council member's assessment, at least, in the wake of yesterday's news that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has rated "unacceptable" 34 of 170 areas in the Trinity River levees. An excerpt from the piece she just posted to her Web site:The fact is, this toll road project is dead. There's ... More >>

Is the Army Corps of Engineers Having Second Thoughts About the Trinity River Project?

Toll You So

The Trinity River Project should be floating right along. Instead it's sinking under the weight of its own folly.

Heavenly Bottoms?

Good God, That Was One Helluva Fight

Read This While We Decide Whether to Get Out of Bed This Morning

Eddie Bernice Johnson's Trinity Toll Road Comment Still Not News to The News

Angela Hunt: "Let the Voters Decide."

Mitchell Says No

So what about the dogfight on the Trinity River Project?

Flood Blood

Politicians create flooding, not the Bible

Bait and switch

The Trinity Project hits some expensive setbacks, but leave it to the News to look on the bright side

The Goatslayers

When a herd of wild goats became a nuisance at a posh lakeside resort, their wholesale slaughter by a couple of property owners divided the community