[StBernard] Governor Blanco appoints members to new Consolidated Levee Board

[Westley Annis]

Governor Blanco appoints members to new Consolidated Levee Board; Turns to Attorney General to ensure board members meet new standards 


BATON ROUGE - Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco today marched forward with levee board reform by appointing members to the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East. Gov. Blanco called a special session in February, largely to consolidate New Orleans area levee boards. She successfully pushed the reform legislation through, and after Louisiana voters overwhelmingly approved the consolidation in September, Gov. Blanco wasted no time in implementing the new law.

"It is significant that we enter the New Year with levee reform in place," Governor Blanco said. "Louisiana's voters overwhelmingly supported my request to take the politics out of flood protection. There will be no distractions from this work. The new professional boards will focus exclusively on the safety of our homes and communities. That's true progress, that's true reform."

Constitutional Amendment 3, approved by voters September 30, created two entities, the S! outheast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority -East and the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - West. This consolidation was outlined in Act 1 of the first 2006 Special Session. Act 1 also provides for nominating committees made up of member organizations, a cross section of academia, professional and civic groups to make recommendations to the Governor for appointment and confirmation by the Senate. 

At the nominating committees' first meeting, Governor Blanco pushed up the January 30 deadline set in Act 1 to December 25 for the nominating committee to send her a list of final candidates. This shortened timeline was requested to ensure the new board members will be in place in January, 2007. 

After reviewing the candidates submitted by the nominating committees, Gov. Blanco has appointed the following members to the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East:

Category One, Engineers or professional in a rela! ted field - 5 members, including one civil engineer and one hydrologis t or geologist *
1. Louis Wittie, civil engineer, Hammond
2. Larry McKee, civil engineer, Baton Rouge
3. George Losonsky, geologist, Baton Rouge
4. Stradford Goins, civil engineer, Poplarville, Mississippi (a Louisiana graduate who 
also works in Louisiana) 

*Before appointing the fifth member to this category, Gov. Blanco is seeking an opinion from the Attorney General as to the permissibility of the nominating committee's suggested candidate, an out of state public employee, to serve on the board.

Category Two, Other Professionals, 3 members, including one who is either a resident of St. Charles or St. John the Baptist Parishes on the east side of the Mississippi River
1. Dave Barnes, meteorologist, Slidell
2. Timothy Doody, Certified Public Accountant, Arabi
3. Abril Sutherland, attorne! y, LaPlace

Category Three, At-Large, 3 members, including one who is either a resident of St. Charles or St. John the Baptist Parishes on the east side of the Mississippi River
1. John Barry, author, New Orleans
2. Tom Jackson, engineering consultant, Metairie
3. Sara Lee St. Vincent, chemical engineer, Destrehan

"I appreciate the nominating committee for their quality work which has been done as expeditiously as possible. They have helped me set the stage for this board's future success," Gov. Blanco said. 

The law provides that appointments for the east board shall include only one person from each of the 7 parishes (St. Bernard, Orleans, St. Tammany, St. John, St. Charles, Jefferson and Tangipohoa). An organizational meeting for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - East is planned for later this month. 

The Governor is prepared to appoint membe! rs to the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - West. Howe ver, questions have arisen regarding residency stipulations for appointment to that board. As a result, Gov. Blanco has requested an opinion from the Attorney General, and will proceed once the question is resolved. 

"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," Gov. Blanco said. "In the meantime, the Western levee district and staff are in place and will continue operating. I hope to have this matter cleared up as quickly as possible so these professional boards can begin their work of protecting our communities."

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The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation
Louisiana's Fund for Louisiana's People
www.louisianahelp.org