From westley at da-parish.com Wed May 3 08:54:26 2017 From: westley at da-parish.com (Westley Annis) Date: Wed, 3 May 2017 07:54:26 -0500 Subject: [StBernard] EPA Grant of More Than $158, 000 Will Support Public Drinking Water Systems in Louisiana In-Reply-To: <2830704e440444c0afd492842f9ab760@epa.gov> References: <2830704e440444c0afd492842f9ab760@epa.gov> Message-ID: <00df01d2c40c$65e8e860$31bab920$@da-parish.com> EPA Grant of More Than $158,000 Will Support Public Drinking Water Systems in Louisiana Contact: Joe Hubbard or Jennah Durant at 214-665-2200 or r6press at epa.gov DALLAS ? (May 2, 2017) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently awarded $158,101 to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (LDHH) to support several public drinking water systems in Louisiana. The funding is part of EPA?s ongoing commitment to assist local drinking water systems in Louisiana. ?Providing safe, reliable drinking water takes the hard work of public servants at local, state, and federal levels,? said Acting Regional Administrator Sam Coleman. ?EPA is proud to support LDHH and public water systems in achieving this goal.? The funds will help LDHH supervise the state?s public water system, including maintaining and evaluating drinking water systems. Other activities supported by the grant include ensuring water systems comply with Safe Drinking Water Act requirements, developing and maintaining regulations, conducting surveys and assessments of water systems, and reviewing and approving water infrastructure projects. LDHH will focus the grant on the cities of Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Thibodaux, Lafayette, and Abita Springs. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, EPA assists state, territories, and tribes with their public water system supervision programs, in turn helping these systems provide reliable, safe drinking water to consumers and comply with national drinking water standards. For more about EPA grants: https://www.epa.gov/grants For more about EPA?s work in Louisiana: https://www.epa.gov/la Connect with EPA Region 6: On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eparegion6 On Twitter: https://twitter.com/EPAregion6 Activities in EPA Region 6: http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.htm # # # From westley at da-parish.com Wed May 3 09:34:05 2017 From: westley at da-parish.com (Westley Annis) Date: Wed, 3 May 2017 08:34:05 -0500 Subject: [StBernard] Retiring St. Bernard port director paid better than peers; replacement was quietly named without search Message-ID: <002401d2c411$efc97090$cf5c51b0$@da-parish.com> Retiring St. Bernard port director paid better than peers; replacement was quietly named without search BY GORDON RUSSELL | GRUSSELL at THEADVOCATE.COM MAY 2, 2017 - 5:45 PM (0) With a salary of nearly $270,000, the director of the St. Bernard Parish port earns substantially more than all but one of his Louisiana peers, and nearly as much as his counterpart at the much larger and more complex Port of New Orleans, records show. What's more, for the last three-plus years, the St. Bernard Port, Harbor and Terminal District has provided director Robert Scafidel with a driver who squires him back and forth every day between his home outside Covington and the port, a drive of more than 50 miles each way. Scafidel, 70, who on April 11 announced his retirement effective June 30, reached his highest salary last year after receiving a series of raises over the preceding half-decade that boosted his pay by roughly 50 percent. And his state pension, which he will begin receiving July 1, will be based on his three highest-earning years. Scafidel's departure has been in the works for a while. In fact, seven months ago, the port's four-member board quietly named Scafidel's longtime understudy, Drew Heaphy, to replace him. The port did not conduct a search or alert the public that it was seeking a new chief. In fact, when the board voted in September to give Heaphy the job effective July 1, the item was listed on the meeting's agenda as: "Approval of amendment to the Director of Administration/Planning Services' contract." The maneuver - essentially unnoticed at the time - has not sat well with some critics of the port, which has taken knocks over the years for its business practices, some of which were highlighted in a critical 2014 legislative audit. State Rep. Ray Garofalo, R-Chalmette, one of three lawmakers who makes recommendations to the governor on board appointments, issued a statement Tuesday saying that "it is apparent that transparency was lacking" in the elevation of Heaphy to the top spot. Garofalo stressed that he likes Heaphy, and that Heaphy might well have turned out to be the best candidate for the job, but he said he believes the board ought to have conducted a national or at least a regional search. "Such a search would have promoted the ultimate goal of transparency and a higher level of public confidence in the individual hired to replace Mr. Scafidel," Garofalo's statement said. He went on to pose a challenge of sorts to the board, asking members whether they would be willing to consider shelving Heaphy's revised contract to allow for a full vetting of potential candidates. Elton "Jock" LeBlanc, who has served on the port's board for decades, said in an interview with The Advocate that he was confident there was no need to look beyond Heaphy. "Why would I want to do a search when I got a guy who's been there 17 or 18 years and done a terrific job?" LeBlanc asked. "Why would I want to look somewhere else? You look for the best, and we had the best." Even though the impending vacancy in the top job was never advertised, LeBlanc said people in the know were aware that Scafidel was leaving. "There was people coming out of the woodwork that wanted that job, because it's a lucrative job," he said. Cheri Quigley, who joined the board more recently, said she had voted for Heaphy because of his qualifications - he is a certified public accountant with a business degree, she said - and because he had capably filled in for Scafidel previously. "For now, I think he's the right person to be there," Quigley said. "We felt it would be best to have some continuity when Dr. Scafidel stepped down. I don't think there was anyone else who could step in seamlessly." Former St. Bernard Parish President Charlie Ponstein said an interview that he believes Heaphy - who once served in his parish administration - is better qualified than anyone the port has ever appointed as director. "Back in the day, it wasn't based on experience," Ponstein said. "It was based on being close to the politicians." Indeed, Scafidel and his predecessor, Irwin Ruiz, both had been administrators with the St. Bernard Parish public school system before moving to the port. Scafidel also served in a similar role at Nunez Community College. Scafidel was hired by the port as deputy director in April 1998 and was promoted to the top job the next month. The 2014 audit by Louisiana Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera's office criticized the port for poor business practices and suggested its leaders had gotten too cozy with certain public officials. It noted, for instance, that port officials had signed lucrative monthly retainer contracts with two recently retired politicians, a former state representative and a former judge. Those arrangements ended only when the officials died. Since the audit, port leaders created a new job especially for a local lawyer immediately after his release from federal prison for bribing a judge. They also have taken heat over the controversial expropriation of a stretch of riverfront in Violet - a move they have so far successfully defended in court. The parcel's former owners, who have appealed to the state Supreme Court, claim the port seized their property only to turn it over to a rival company whose owners were friendly with port officials. The 2014 audit also flagged Scafidel's benefits package, noting that the board voted to give him a series of raises without any formal review of his work. In fact, many of the raises were granted automatically. The audit also faulted the board for its failure to assess Scafidel's performance; meeting minutes indicate the board has since corrected that problem. Quigley told The Advocate that Scafidel's contract and raises were negotiated before her tenure on the board. But LeBlanc forcefully defended Scafidel's benefits package, as did longtime board member Harold Anderson. "We believe Dr. Scafidel was worth every penny that we as a board decided to grant him," Anderson said. "He was one of the most competent people the port has ever had." LeBlanc said Scafidel oversaw a period of tremendous growth at the port. "He's done a terrific job and should have been paid what he's making," LeBlanc said. "The man ought to go out with real honors. He's done a wonderful job, and he ought to be rewarded with a wonderful sendoff." As for giving Scafidel a personal driver, LeBlanc said the board decided to do it because Scafidel suffered from a medical problem. Heaphy said the man who typically chauffeurs his boss, Marty Nunez, lives in Slidell, so he doesn't have to drive all the way from Chalmette to Covington to fetch Scafidel every morning. Still, the drive from Slidell to Covington is about 35 miles, meaning Nunez commutes approximately 170 miles in a port-owned car each day. Heaphy, who lives in Arabi and who will not have a driver, will also start off making a lot less than Scafidel. His contract, which extends through 2021, calls for him to receive annual salary increases of 4 percent. It also gave him a merit increase on Jan. 1, meaning he is now making about $180,000 and will reach $220,000 by 2021, when the contract expires. Those figures are comparable to what peer port directors make, according to a salary survey by the American Association of Port Authorities. Scafidel declined to be interviewed for this article.