NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Biden administration is preparing to announce plans for a new five-year schedule to lease federal offshore tracts for wind energy production, with up to a dozen lease sales anticipated beginning this year and continuing through 2028.
The plan was to be announced Wednesday in New Orleans by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. Three of the anticipated sales would be for Gulf of Mexico tracts to be offered this year, in 2025 and in 2027. Central Atlantic area leases would be sold in 2024 and 2026.
Other anticipated sale areas include the Gulf of Maine (2024 and 2028); Oregon waters (2024); an area of the Atlantic known as New York Bight (2027); and California, Hawaii, and an as-yet unspecified U.S. territory (2028).
The sales will be coordinated by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
"As we look toward the future, this new leasing schedule will support the types of renewable energy projects needed to lower consumer costs, combat climate change, create jobs to support families, and ensure economic opportunities are accessible to all communities,” Haaland said in a news release ahead of remarks to a conference in New Orleans.
FILE - Turbines operate at the Block Island Wind Farm, Dec. 7, 2023, off the coast of Block Island, R.I. The Biden administration is preparing to announce plans for a new five-year schedule to lease federal offshore tracts for wind energy production, with up to a dozen lease sales anticipated beginning this year and continuing through 2028. The plan was to be announced Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in New Orleans by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)
HOUSTON (AP) — Floodwaters closed some Texas schools on Monday after days of heavy rains pummeled the Houston area and led to hundreds of rescues including people who were standed on rooftops.
A 5-year-old boy died after riding in a car that was swept away in fast waters, authorities said.
Although forecasters expected storms to begin tapering off in southeastern Texas, high waters continued to close some roads and left residents facing lengthy cleanups in neighborhoods where rising river levels led to weekend evacuation orders.
Houston is one of the most flood-prone metro areas in the country. Hurricane Harvey in 2017 dumped historic rainfall that flooded thousands of homes and resulted in more than 60,000 rescues.
In one soggy area of Houston, school officials in Channelview canceled classes and said a survey of their employees found many of them had experienced circumstances that would prevent them from coming to work.
“These folks have suffered much, people," Trinity County Sheriff Woody Wallace said Sunday during a Facebook livestream as he rode a boat through a rural flooded neighborhood. Partially submerged cars and street signs peeked above the water around him.
Areas near Lake Livingston, located northeast of Houston, received upwards of 23 inches (58 centimeters) of rain over the past week, National Weather Service meteorologist Jimmy Fowler said.
In Johnson County, south of Fort Worth, a 5-year-old boy died when he was swept away after the vehicle he was riding in became stuck in swift-moving water near the community of Lillian just before 2 a.m. Sunday, an official said.
The child and two adults were trying to reach dry ground when they were swept away. The adults were rescued around 5 a.m. and taken to a hospital, while the child was found dead around 7:20 a.m. in the water, Johnson County Emergency Management Director Jamie Moore wrote in a social media post.
Storms brought 9 inches (23 centimeters) of rain in a span of six to eight hours in some areas from central Texas to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Stalley said.
Since last week, storms have forced numerous high-water rescues in the Houston area, including some from the rooftops of flooded homes.
Greg Moss, 68, stayed put in his recreational vehicle on Sunday after leaving his home in the community of Channelview in eastern Harris County near the San Jacinto River. A day earlier, he had packed up many of his belongings and left before the road to his home flooded.
“I would be stuck for four days,” Moss said. “So now at least I can go get something to eat.”
Moss moved his belongings and vehicle to a neighbor’s home, where he planned to stay until the waters recede. The floodwaters had already gone down by a couple of feet and he wasn’t worried his home would flood because it’s located on higher ground, Moss said Sunday.
Stengle reported from Dallas and Associated Press reporter Juan A. Lozano contributed to this report.
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A heron stands as water flows over N. Houston Road, making the road impassible on Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Humble, Texas. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Dorothy and Earl Blevins' temporary home sits off its foundation after it was moved by flooded water and into the new home they are building on property once owned by Dorothy's mother on Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Spendora, Texas. "We've never flooded like this," said Dorothy. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Clouds amass over power lines follow days of storms on Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Humble, Texas. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Dorothy Blevins dries out photos from her home after it was flooded by the East Branch San Jacinto River on Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Spendora, Texas. "These mean the most to me, everything else can be replaced," she said. Two weeks ago, her husband, Earl, closed their storage rental and put everything in their new home. "The timing of this is terrible," he said. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A mobile home in an unincorporated area in east Harris County near Houston on Sunday morning, May 5, 2024, is surrounded by flood waters caused by the nearby San Jacinto River, which overflowed due to heavy rainfall earlier this week. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)
A mobile home in an unincorporated area in east Harris County near Houston on Sunday morning, May 5, 2024, is surrounded by flood waters caused by the nearby San Jacinto River, which overflowed due to heavy rainfall earlier this week. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)
A mailbox is partially submerged on a flooded street in an unincorporated area in east Harris County near Houston on Sunday morning, May 5, 2024. The nearby San Jacinto River, overflowing due to heavy rainfall earlier this week, caused the flood waters. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)
Overflow from the swollen Trinity River fills James Smart's backyard as wades the floodwaters to make preparations to his chicken coup to ensure the safety of his livestock, Sunday, May 5, 2024, near Liberty, Texas. (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Alvaro Trevino pulls a canoe with Jennifer Tellez and Ailyn, 8, after they checked on their home on Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Spendora, Texas. The family has lived on the property in a rental trailer for two years. "It's really bad," said Tellez, who says they stayed dry during the most recent flooding in February. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)
