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A Review of Expenditures Related to Hurricane Ike at the Parks and Wildlife Department

July 2009

Report Number 09-045

Overall Conclusion

The Parks and Wildlife Department (Department) is responsible for state parks and wildlife management areas, several of which were damaged by Hurricane Ike when it made landfall on September 13, 2008. In addition to sustaining damage to facilities, the Department also suffered revenue losses and expects to incur other hurricane-related costs.

The Department's January 2009 funding request for rebuilding costs was $80.85 million.

The Department sought $60.85 million in funding to rebuild facilities damaged by Hurricane Ike in a January 27, 2009, legislative funding request. Department management included an additional $20.00 million in its request to reserve funds to rebuild Sea Rim State Park. As a result, the Department's total estimated rebuilding cost for 9 of 32 sites that received hurricane damage totaled $80.85 million. The Department has significantly modified its plans for rebuilding Sea Rim State Park since January 2009 so that rebuilding that park would only cost approximately $2.00 million. The Department had received $684,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for infrastructure repairs as of April 27, 2009. Of that amount, the Department had transferred $357,000 to the Department of Transportation for debris removal from Department sites.

Auditors' estimate of the Department's total costs is $88.21 million.

Auditors estimate that, if the Department follows its current preliminary plans, its total rebuilding and recovery costs could total $88.21 million. Auditors' estimate is more comprehensive than the Department's funding request because it is an estimate of the Department's total rebuilding and recovery costs, rather than just the Department's funding needs. Auditors estimate that the Department could recover $66.59 million of these costs from non-State sources, primarily FEMA, resulting in a $21.62 million cost to the State.

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