SAN AUGUSTINE — The Deep East Texas Council of Governments and Economic Development District held its first meeting of 2026 on Jan. 22 at the San Augustine Community Shelter. Prior to the board meeting, a reception was held at the San Augustine County Courthouse to kick off a celebration of the organization’s 60th anniversary year.
The DETCOG Board approved an application to the USDA for a grant to fund a Bioeconomy Development Opportunity Zone Rating for Deep East Texas. A BDO Zone Rating is an investment-grade assessment of a region’s readiness for bio-based manufacturing. It evaluates biomass supply and infrastructure and issues a site readiness rating based on factors like workforce access, utilities, environmental conditions, and development feasibility. The rating is widely used by site selectors and project developers.
The Board heard a report from the Executive Committee that 11 applications were received from cities and counties for regional solid waste grants. All 11 were approved for funding, totaling $74,805. Grants were approved for Angelina, Houston, Nacogdoches, Polk, Sabine, San Jacinto, Trinity, and Tyler counties, as well as the cities of Diboll, Nacogdoches, and San Augustine. The grant awards are subject to review by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality before becoming final.
Resolutions were approved in support of three regional grant applications to be submitted to the Governor’s Office. These grants would support improved radio communications for law enforcement and first responder agencies and provide reimbursements for expenses incurred by juvenile probation departments in the region.
Also at the meeting, DETCOG’s Annual Performance Report was presented. This report is prepared annually to show activities and results from the past year, with projections for the coming year. The report can be viewed on the DETCOG website or at this online link:
https://heyzine.com/flip-book/96c2d806c4.html
DETCOG was organized in 1966 as an Economic Development District under the US Department of Commerce. In 1968 it also became a regional planning commission for the State of Texas. Today, the organization encompasses the counties of Angelina, Houston, Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Trinity, and Tyler. At 9,414 square miles, the region is larger than the states of New Hampshire, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island.
Now in its 60th year, DETCOG continues to unite the local governments of the region to provide for coordinated planning, promote efficiency, and deliver services to benefit its local governments and their citizens.
“We are not another layer of government,” points out DETCOG Executive Director Lonnie Hunt. “Membership in DETCOG is voluntary, and the COG doesn’t have any taxing authority or ordinance-making authority. We exist to support our local governments and provide services to them and their citizens that wouldn’t be feasible or efficient for each individual county or city to do on their own.”
The DETCOG Board of Directors meets in a different county of the region each month, usually on the fourth Thursday. The next meeting will be held Feb. 26 at noon at Larry Bruce Gardens, located between Crockett and Kennard in Houston County. There will also be a 60th Anniversary Reception at 10 am that day at the Houston County Courthouse in Crockett.
