MERRELL

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the National Defense Authorization Act and it includes authorizations for a $34 billion plan to protect residents and the petrochemical industry near Galveston and Houston in Texas.

A judge has given tentative approval to a $54 million settlement involving 3M Co., a shoe manufacturer and property owners in western Michigan who said their land and wells were contaminated by toxic “forever chemicals.”

The Ike Dike is a coastal barrier that, when completed, would protect the Houston-Galveston region including Galveston Bay from hurricane storm surge. Now the close call has renewed a debate about whether the Houston area should build a massive and expensive barrier to protect against storm surge. Galveston Bay is healthy, and fish and other animals thrive there because water circulates in and out of the gulf, said Bob Stokes, president of the Galveston Bay Foundation environmental group. “No hurricane storm surge barrier will ever protect us from 150 mph winds. No hurricane storm surge barrier will ever protect us from rain,” Stokes said.