Texas kids’ camps must remove cabins from floodplains, operate warning systems under new laws

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Two weeks ago, Davin Hunt told state legislators about the nightmares plaguing him and his wife since floodwaters killed their 9-year-old daughter at Camp Mystic. Sometimes Hunt dreamt he was rushing to protect his child from an evil force. Other times he re-lived the trip to the funeral home, wishing he could have died instead.

In the worst visions, Hunt imagined his little girl in her last moments, petrified, screaming, alone.

Amid the tearful testimony that day, several senators promised Hunt and other parents that they would pass legislation the parents sought to make camps safer, so no other mom or dad would experience the same torturous loss, or feel as if they failed their children when they assured them camp would be safe.

Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, said that day that he couldn’t stop the bad dreams, but he could promise something: “These camps are going to be safe.”

On Wednesday, state legislators followed through on their word, passing a slew of new regulations for kids’ camps, including that no cabins could be located in the floodplain near dangerous parts of a river, and that camps would have to install emergency warning systems to alert campers if something is wrong.

The Senate passed House Bill 1 with a vote of 26-0. The House passed Senate Bill 1 with a vote of 120-4. Both bills will now be sent to the governor to be signed into law. The bills each provide their own new regulations and have some identical language lawmakers said they worked on to ensure would go into statute without issue.

The families of victims have been present in hearings, in chamber galleries during floor discussion and in the offices of legislators since the floods, urging them to take action. HB 1’s author and SB 1 House sponsor Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, said those efforts have helped shape the two bills into effective legislation.

“Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 1 would not have happened without your relentless advocacy, fight and determination,” Darby said on the House floor Wednesday. “Thank you for trusting us to do your work, that is the people’s work.”

The bills call for camps to take multiple steps to strengthen their preparations for responding to emergencies.

If the bills are signed, youth camps will have to ensure they have emergency procedures for where to evacuate, how to account for campers and how to communicate with emergency managers and parents and guardians. Camps will post evacuation routes in each cabin and make sure the routes are lit at night. They will designate camp emergency preparedness coordinators.

Camp staff under the expected new laws will be required to have orientations with campers at the beginning of each session for what to do if there is an emergency. And the staff themselves will be trained at least once a year. Parents or guardians will have to sign statements to acknowledge if any portion of the camp is in a floodplain. Camp operators will be expected to monitor National Weather Service alerts and keep weather radios that blare if an alert goes out.

Meanwhile, the state will review whether the ratio of campers to counselors needs to change. And it will create a team with representatives from various Texas agencies to regularly meet and develop standards for kids’ camps.

At all campgrounds, the new policies when finalized will also require operators to put ladders on cabins in the floodplain for people to use to climb onto the roof. Campground operators in the floodplain will also have to develop evacuation plans to implement if the National Weather Service issues a flash flood or flood warning.

The rules will come at a financial cost to camps in the Hill Country that are also taking on the process of cleaning up and repairing property but that the parents have argued need to make changes. A Texas Tribune analysis found that 13 camps on the Guadalupe River including Camp Mystic had buildings in the floodplain.

Three of them — Camp Waldemar, Vista Camps and Camp Stewart — wrote a letter to lawmakers last week saying that the price of rebuilding cabins in the floodplain and not being able to have campers while they do so would put their futures at financial risk. They asked for financial support and permission to operate while they build new cabins if the new requirements pass.

Camp Waldemar said it is moving forward with plans to build new compliant cabins and commended legislators for passing the new proposals in a statement to The Texas Tribune after the two bills passed.

“This transition is an opportunity to carry forward our camp’s legacy of safety and stewardship, ensuring Waldemar remains a place of joy, tradition and sisterhood for the next 100 years,” the statement read.

Camp Mystic and the family members of owner and executive director Dick Eastland, who died in the flood, said in an initial statement on Aug. 21, the day after emotional testimony from parents, that they supported legislation to make camps safer.

Camp safety wasn’t a main priority on the agenda when Gov. Greg Abbott first called lawmakers back to Austin after the floods. But it gained attention as the parents of the 27 Camp Mystic girls who died began sharing their stories and pushing for change.

At that hearing two weeks ago, another father, Ryan DeWitt, remembered dropping his daughter Molly off at camp. He was worried about leaving his curious, compassionate child, along with his older daughter.

Molly grabbed him by the arms as he knelt, looked him in the eyes and said repeatedly, “I love you, Dad. I love you, Dad. I love you, Dad.”

Her death was preventable, DeWitt said.

“Now we fight united for the safety and lives of millions of children that will attend camps in the future,” he said. “And the future is right now.”

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