[StBernard] New era for levee protection begins

Westley Annis westley at da-parish.com
Mon Jan 1 21:02:24 EST 2007


New era for levee protection begins
By Robert Travis Scott
Capital bureau

Today marks a new era in the history of flood protection in the New Orleans
region as a law takes effect creating a levee board governing system that
crosses parish lines and sets professional standards and a more objective
method for selecting leaders.


But this is, after all, Louisiana. And no sooner had the winged creature of
reform emerged from its cocoon than it became entangled in a spider web of
parochial politics and legal challenges.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced the board appointments Sunday for only one of
the two new regional authorities, based on nominations submitted to her last
week by a committee of representatives from academic, professional and civic
groups. Overseeing an area covering the north shore and the east bank of the
Mississippi River from the River Parishes to St. Bernard, they can begin
work immediately, though confirmation by the state Senate is needed
eventually.

The governor postponed appointments for the new board that will oversee
flood protection for the West Bank of Orleans and Jefferson parishes because
of a fracas over some of the nominees' background and residency. Part of the
problem is that none of the nominees to that board resides in West
Jefferson, although two have a strong professional interest in the area. The
governor is awaiting an opinion from the attorney general before proceeding.


"We have come so far in reforming our levee boards, I want to be absolutely
certain this new board will meet the high standards our people have
demanded," Blanco said in a written statement Sunday. "I hope to have this
matter cleared up as quickly as possible so these professional boards can
begin their work of protecting our communities."

Backed by a state constitutional amendment that was supported by 81 percent
of voters statewide in a September referendum, the new oversight boards are
widely considered one of the most significant post-Katrina reforms passed by
the Legislature.

"It's significant that we will enter the new year with a reformed process
for selecting levee board members," Blanco said. "The old levee boards will
be out, and politics in flood protection will be gone."


Challenges ahead


But the challenges of flood protection remain, and the learning curve will
be steep for the freshly minted board members, all volunteers. Many of them
are insufficiently knowledgeable of the specific levee weaknesses and future
programs in the area, yet they will inherit agency work forces from multiple
parishes and oversee a vastly larger geography than their predecessors.

Soon they will have to deal with the gnarled affairs of the Orleans district
that so embittered the public during the former board's regime. The airport,
marinas and other dubious and distracting commercial ventures of the former
Orleans Levee Board are to be separated from the jurisdiction of flood
control under the new system. Although the state Division of Administration
is capturing some of those commercial assets, the disposition of others is
unsettled and will require the new board's input to resolve.

Money is an immediate issue. Reduced and unpredictable tax revenue in
Orleans, combined with assorted debts and complicated legal settlements,
promises to occupy much of the board members' energy in the months ahead.
Areas on the north shore will be under levee-authority control for the first
time, with no tax revenue base.

"Basically, we need people to get things done, in the shortest time
possible," said Tim Doody, a St. Bernard Parish resident appointed to the
east bank levee authority. "Everybody's going to be under a microscope."


Hydrology, not politics


One of the goals of the legislation was to consolidate a fragmented
governing system and reduce opportunities for cronyism by removing local
legislators, and to some extent the governor, from the board selection
process. Another was to keep the new authority members focused on the core
mission of protecting people and property.

After Katrina, the shortcomings of the old regime resonated on an
international scale. A recent edition of the London-based Economist magazine
noted that among the former levee boards, the "areas of responsibility and
interest reflected politics, not hydrology."

That image is what designers of the new system sought to remedy.

In a special legislative session called in February mainly to deal with the
levee board overhaul, state Sen. Walter Boasso, R-Arabi, joined forces with
Blanco's Natural Resources Department Secretary Scott Angelle to craft a new
program and lobby for its passage. Political momentum was sustained by a
groundswell of support instigated by the Business Council of New Orleans and
the River Region and a grass-roots movement personified by a league of women
devoted to the cause, who dotted the halls of the state Capitol with their
signature red blazers during the debates.

After West Bank lawmakers succeeded in breaking off their region into an
authority separate from the east bank, the final package received strong
support. A constitutional amendment made possible the new board selection
process. Separately, the statute taking effect today, Act 1 of the 2006
first special session, creates the New Orleans area authorities.


Changing of the boards


The existing levee taxing districts for Orleans, St. Bernard, West Jefferson
and East Jefferson will remain, along with their staffs. But their ruling
boards are eliminated.

Eleven board members will run the new Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection
Authority East, which oversees the east bank of Orleans and Jefferson
parishes, all of St. Bernard Parish, the east bank of St. Charles and St.
John the Baptist parishes and the areas of St. Tammany and Tangipahoa
parishes below Interstate 12. The two north shore parishes previously had no
special levee districts or boards.

Each of the parishes must have a single representative on the board who
resides in the parish. Other board members can be from elsewhere in the
state or even out of state.

Blanco named 10 of the 11 east authority members. A nomination for an 11th
spot was for Ricardo Pineda, an engineer with the California Department of
Water Resources. The governor questioned whether a public servant would be
allowed to serve on the board and has asked for an attorney general's
opinion of whether Pineda can serve.

In addition, the law requires that the east authority have at least five
members who possess engineering or professional experience in levee work,
hydrology, environmental science or other related fields. The nominating
group submits one name for each of the five slots, and the governor can
accept or reject each candidate. Upon a rejection, the nominating group
would have to submit a new name.

Three other members of the authority must be professionals in other fields
with at least 10 years of experience. And the remaining three have no
background requirements. For these six posts, the nominating group must
submit two names for each slot, from which the governor selects one or
rejects both.


Western saga


A similar set of standards was set for the seven members who will rule the
Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority West, covering the West Bank
of Orleans and Jefferson parishes. On this board, each parish gets two
representatives, but the nominating group submitted Jefferson Parish
candidates who live on the east bank and none from West Jefferson.

"That was clearly not the intent of the law," said state Rep. Jim Tucker,
R-Algiers, whose district touches both parishes on the West Bank. Both
Tucker and Blanco requested an attorney general's opinion on whether the law
requires West Jefferson residents to be appointed.

A West Bank authority with no West Jefferson resident would be galling to
many officials on the West Bank who fought to keep a separate board from the
east bank for fear their needs would be overlooked. West Bank lawmakers
already had failed to get the Legislature to install a stronger West
Jefferson presence on the board under the new law.

Another problem is that the nominating group submitted nine names for the
West Bank authority. Tucker says the law requires 11 nominations. The
nominating group got around it by offering two of the same candidates twice
for separate slots on the board.

Tucker, who as head of the House Republican delegation is one of Blanco's
harshest critics, said the governor was doing the right thing by holding off
on the West Bank authority appointments until the issues can be resolved.

Jay Lapeyre Jr., who heads the Business Council and served as chairman of
the levee authority nominating group, said the group looked hard at both
East Jefferson and West Jefferson residents and concluded that the east bank
individuals were more qualified.

He said the group was working under a tough time constraint. If a
re-evaluation is needed, the group will rise to the occasion, he said.

"Wherever this goes, we'll fully address this and get exceptional boards for
both banks," Lapeyre said Sunday.

A minor firestorm has erupted over the nomination of Raymond Fuenzalida to
the West Bank authority. Although he lives in east Jefferson, he is general
manager of the Harvey Canal Limited Partnership in Harvey, which is directly
impacted by a major ongoing levee project. Tucker said some parish officials
have raised questions of whether his position on the board would create a
conflict of interest.

Angelle said Sunday that the governor had received comments as to whether
Fuenzalida was the best person for the job. He said the governor is taking a
number of issues into consideration with the West Bank authority
appointments, and that by the end of January the matter should be settled.
Tucker agreed.

"I think it will all get worked out," Tucker said. "But it's got to be fixed
right."

Robert Travis Scott can be reached at rscott at timespicayune.com or (225)
342-4197.



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