Texas is a model for how states can lead the way in building long-term disaster resilience.
Our mission: protect people, environment, and economy from storm surge. Through bold, locally-driven action, we are building coastal resilience that delivers national impact.
Gulf Coast Protection District is part of the largest coastal protection effort in U.S. history. By reducing risk today, we prepare communities for tomorrow.
Protecting people is at the heart of our mission. Each project is designed to shield families, homes, and essential services from coastal threats.
Local action is key to disaster mitigation. When communities lead, solutions meet real needs to safeguard our schools, hospitals, and small businesses.
The Texas Gulf Coast is home to some of our nation’s most essential infrastructure. It hosts major U.S. ports of entry, as well as some of the world’s largest refineries and petroleum reserves — assets critical to both our economy and national security.
Nature-based solutions are a cornerstone of our strategy. By employing multiple lines of defense, including ecological restoration, we aim to enhance the coast’s ability to adapt to rising sea levels and recover from extreme weather events.
Gulf Coast Protection District is a non-Federal sponsor working to advance two large-scale projects led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Currently, there is no large-scale storm surge protection in Orange County. This element will consist of building new levees, floodwalls, and pump stations.
The Port Arthur element is currently under construction and includes major upgrades to an existing storm surge protection system to meet new federal standards.
A combination of engineered solutions with natural defenses, GCPD is leading two elements of the Coastal Texas Project—Galveston Bay Barrier System, also known locally as the “Ike Dike,” and the Galveston Bay Shoreline and Island Protection element.
Gulf Coast Protection District meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. unless otherwise posted. The Board of Directors invites all members of the public to attend.
To provide public comment at a Board Meeting, you must be present in-person and sign up in advance of the meeting.
For media inquiries, contact [email protected]
HOUSTON, TX — Coalter Baker, Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Protection District (GCPD), will step down effective Dec. 31, 2026, to pursue other opportunities. Baker will continue to lead...
The Gulf Coast Protection District is taking a new step toward understanding how the upper Texas coast changes from day to day. On Oct. 14, the GCPD Board of Directors...
Gulf Coast Protection District (GCPD) is hosting a virtual industry day and optional one-on-one meetings with interested Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) contractors for the Beaches and Dunes feature of...
One storm. $29.5 billion in damage. The lesson was clear: the upper Texas coast needed a plan
built to last. That plan is the Coastal Texas Project. Authorized by Congress in 2022 and led locally, the Coastal Texas Project is the largest coastal protection effort in U.S. history — designed to reduce storm surge risk for the nearly 5.8 million Texans who live in GCPD’s five counties, and to protect the national infrastructure the entire country depends on.
The Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay Project is part of the largest coastal flood protection
efforts in U.S. history — built to defend Southeast Texas communities from the storm surge. In this video, learn how GCPD is working with the local, state and federal partners to reduce storm surge flooding risk for Orange, Port Arthur, Nederland, Groves, and surrounding communities along the upper Texas Gulf Coast.
U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia voices her support for the Coastal Texas Project during proceedings before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on January 15, 2026.
