Cornyn Op-Ed: The Energy Capital of the World Needs the Coastal Texas Project
December 5, 2025
AUSTIN – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) authored the following op-ed in the Houston Chronicle on the importance of the Texas Coastal Spine Project for securing America’s energy from the threat of hurricanes along the Texas Gulf Coast.
The Energy Capital of the World Needs the Coastal Texas Project
Senator John Cornyn
The Houston Chronicle
December 5, 2025
It’s well-known that Houston is the Energy Capital of the World — home to a vast and dense concentration of refineries, petrochemical plants, and energy infrastructure stretching along the Houston Ship Channel. This industrial corridor is critical to producing and transporting the fuels, chemicals, and materials that power our nation and support economies across the globe. But with so much essential infrastructure concentrated in a single region, we must confront a sobering truth: The Bayou City is just one major hurricane away from a potential energy and ecological crisis.
A direct hit from a powerful storm — particularly one pushing a significant storm surge up Galveston Bay and into the Ship Channel — could not only disrupt national and global energy supplies, but also trigger an ecological disaster. Floodwaters from such a surge could damage industrial facilities and overwhelm containment systems, releasing an unimaginable cascade of hazardous materials into the surrounding environment, threatening both public health and fragile ecosystems. This dual risk underscores the urgent need to accelerate resilience planning, environmental safeguards, and infrastructure protection before the next storm arrives.
A report from the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters, or SSPEED, Center at Rice University concluded that a Category 4 or 5 hurricane could result in a severe storm surge slamming into petrochemical facilities and thousands of above ground tanks that dot the Houston area, wiping out billions of dollars of refineries and more. This would be devastating to Houston’s energy production and would send the price of gasoline soaring nationwide.
The Houston-Galveston region has long been susceptible to hurricanes, but recent storms still loom large for Southeast Texans: Hurricane Ike in 2008, Harvey in 2017, and Beryl last year. This reality is something that Texans accept, but there is a way we can make these storms less devastating.
The good news is that we are already taking steps to protect coastal Texas from the storms of tomorrow through the creation of what is referred to as the Coastal Texas Project, often referred to as the Ike Dike. While progress on this takes time, funding, and multiple acts of Congress, we know that Texas families, the U.S. energy industry, and the entire globe will reap lasting rewards. Building a coastal storm barrier to protect at-risk petrochemical infrastructure and the Texas Gulf Coast is urgent not just for Houston and its residents, but for our entire nation and all who source their energy from the free world.
This is an ambitious project, but we are already on the path toward protecting Texas communities from the whims of Mother Nature. I successfully fought to fund for the Coastal Texas Study, a critical first step in identifying the scope of the project. Three years ago, I helped secure congressional authorization of the project through the Water Resources and Development Act, or WRDA. The only remaining hurdle before construction begins is funding.
The Army Corps of Engineers estimates that the Coastal Texas Project would require up to $34.4 billion to build, and once funded, the construction could take up to two decades. I secured some of the initial funding in the Army Corps of Engineers 2024 Work Plan, and the State of Texas has already allocated $950 million.
However, there is much more to be done.
Due to the sheer scale of the project, it will take years of consistent funding from Congress to fully pay for the storm barrier. The project will have to compete with others for resources during the appropriations process. I was pleased that my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives secured an additional $5 million, and I have secured language in the Senate’s Energy & Water Development appropriations bill that encourages the Army Corps to prioritize funding of the coastal storm barrier. While this may feel like a drop in the bucket, it is an important step toward securing our energy supply.
This will require a whole of government effort from Texas’ congressional delegation. I’m proud to lead the charge, and I’d encourage you to reach out to your congressional representatives and urge them to join this fight. There are naysayers who think this is impossible, but here’s my message to them: Since when did Texas quit when the going got tough? The repercussions of failing to bring the Coastal Texas Project to the finish would be costly both financially and in loss of precious Texans’ lives.
This storm barrier system is imperative, not just for Houston and the surrounding areas, but for our entire country and all who rely on American energy. Fortifying the Energy Capital of the World will come at a price, but we cannot afford to fail.