[StBernard] Levee authority committee seeking St. Bernard Parish nominee

[Westley Annis]

Levee authority committee seeking St. Bernard Parish nominee
Print Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Benjamin
Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
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on March 20, 2014 at 10:38 AM, updated March 20, 2014 at 2:38 PM

The chairman of the independent committee that selects nominees to sit on
the east bank regional levee authority announced it is accepting nominations
from St. Bernard Parish residents to serve on that levee board. The Thursday
announcement comes after retired 4th Circuit Court of Appeal Judge David
Gorbaty recently withdrew his name. Gorbaty has a conflict of interest now
that he is volunteering as the St. Bernard's chief administrative officer.

The nominating committee decided on March 6 to keep levee authority
President Tim Doody as one of its nominees for a seat representing St.
Bernard, ignoring Gov. Bobby Jindal's opposition to Doody. But the committee
agreed to replace its second nominee for the seat, after Gorbaty withdrew
his name.

Jindal wants to oust Doody for overseeing the Southeast Louisiana Flood
Protection Authority-East's decision last July to file a wetlands damages
lawsuit against 97 oil, gas and pipeline companies. The governor has said
that action contravenes the state's coastal restoration strategy.

Jindal already has selected three new authority board members who oppose the
wetlands damages lawsuit. The independent committee nominated two of those
new members in September.

But Jindal refused to appoint Doody when Gorbaty became ineligible for the
authority's seat.

The levee authority lawsuit contends that the failure of energy companies to
repair wetlands damage caused by their operations reduces the ability of the
area's levee system to withstand hurricanes. The suit asks the court to
force the companies to either repair that damage or pay the authority for
damages that can't be repaired.

The state Legislature currently is considering bills to halt the lawsuit,
potentially by giving the governor the authority to reject authority
nominees and requiring the nominating committee to submit new names until
the governor finds one acceptable.

The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authorities-East is a flood control
board that covers East Jefferson Levee District, Orleans Levee District, and
Lake Borgne Basin Levee District.

"This is an opportunity for qualified St. Bernard residents to serve our
community by nominating themselves or encouraging other qualified candidates
to submit their names for consideration for a position on the Southeast
Louisiana Flood Protection Authorities-East Levee Board," Jay Lapeyre,
chairman of the nominating committee, said on Thursday.

The deadline to submit an application is March 31 and qualified applicants
must be residents of St. Bernard. Lapeyre said that he hopes to provide a
nominee to Jindal by April 16.

To apply for a position, interested candidates can find the applications at
here. Applications may be submitted to, Office of the Governor - Coastal
Activities, Attn: Stephanie Aymond, 1051 North Third Street, Suite 138,
Baton Rouge, LA 70802. You can reach Aymond at 225.342.3968.

For more information on the nomination process for the levee board, click
here. For more information on the levee board, click here.

http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/03/levee_authority_committee_
seek.html