BEAUMONT — Members of the Jefferson County Commissioner’s Court said they are pushing a program for homeowners who received minor damage from Tropical Storm Harvey.

Everette “Bo” Alfred, Precinct 4 county commissioner, said homes that received 17 inches or less of water inside can qualify.

“This will get homes up to speed so people can live in them. We want to push this program,” he said.

Michael “Shane” Sinegal, Precinct 3 county commissioner, agreed, but said most of the homes in Port Arthur had on average 2 feet of water inside.

“This wiped out most homes in Port Arthur because they had 17 inches or more,” Sinegal said. “I’m asking elected officials in Port Arthur to join and ask to lift that cap. It’s very unfair to have a 17-inch cap.”

Alfred said to register with this Texas General Land Office program, call 888-958-0877. Registrants must have a Federal Emergency Management Agency identification number to find their enrollment status.

In other county business, Paul Beard, Joseph Johnson and Vernon Pierce were reappointed to the Sabine-Neches Navigation District Board of Directors.

Randy Reese, general manager of the SNND, gave an update on the project to deepen the Sabine-Neches Waterway from 40 feet to 48 feet.

Reese said he would meet with officials from the Office of Management and Budget in Washington, D.C. next week to get “some traction” for the project.

“We’re hopeful we’ll do the project (digging) at the end of 2018 or the beginning of 2019. We started the process in 1997,” Reese said.

The SNND site reads a deeper channel will allow larger ships to reach local ports, meaning increased economic activity and new jobs for Southeast Texas.

“This means billions of dollars in new revenues and tens of thousands of new jobs for our region!” it read.

Alfred said the $1 billion project is important for the area in creating jobs and it will benefit everyone.