The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority was established by Louisiana state la
Revised Statute §38:330.1in September 2006. Its operation began in January 2007. The Authority consists of two regional
levee
A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...
boards which oversee flood protection in the
Greater New Orleans area on the east and west banks of the Mississippi River. Commissioners of both Authorities have clearly defined term limits. The Authority also has a Nominating Committee.
At that time, levee boards still existing were:
Algiers
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
), the East Jefferson (Parish) Levee District, the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District (
St. Bernard Parish
St. Bernard Parish (french: Paroisse de Saint-Bernard; es, Parroquia de San Bernardo) is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat and largest community is Chalmette. The parish was formed in 1807. St. Bernard Parish is part of ...
), the St. Tammany (Parish) Levee District, the Tangipihoa (Parish) Levee District, and levee boards for the east banks of
St. John the Baptist and
St. Charles Parishes. The several pre-existing boards, while subservient to the SLFPA, remained in operation until existing projects, bonds, and tax
millage rates either are consolidated under the new board or expire.
Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - East
The SLFPA-East consists of nine members, all of whom are appointed by the Governor of Louisiana from nominations provided by a blue-ribbon nominating committee. The nominating committee by statute consists of representatives of universities, national professional associations, and local civic groups. At least five members of the board are required to be engineers in geologically-relevant fields, such as
hydrology
Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...
. One member must be a
civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
, and another member must be a
geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...
.
The enabling statute stipulates that the SLFPA-East Board be composed of eleven members, one from each
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority.
In February 2014, State Senators Donahue and Nevers, together with State Representatives Cromer, Burns, Hollis, Pearson, Ritchie, and Simon, pre-filed Senate Bill # 342 to make St Tammany Parish independent of SLFPA-East.
Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - West
The SLFPA-West board is composed of seven members, two from each
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority. Members are appointed by the governor from nominations submitted by the nominating committee. Three members are engineers or professionals in related fields such as geotechnical, hydrological, or environmental science. Of those three members, one is a
civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
and one a
geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...
or
hydrologist
Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...
. Two members are professionals in other disciplines with at least ten years of professional experience. One member of these must reside in
on the west side of the Mississippi River. There are two members-at-large, one of whom must reside on the west side of the Mississippi River.
Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority Nominating Committee
The SLFPA Nominating Committee consists of eleven members. Four are deans of various universities and the remainder is members of various engineering and good government organizations. This committee nominates individuals to the SLFPA East and West when there are vacancies. Members of the Nominating Committee have no defined term limits. In the spring of 2017, state representative Patrick Connick agreed to file a bill requiring term limits for the nominating committee at the urging of
Sandy Rosenthal
Sandy Rosenthal is an American civic activist and founder of Levees.Org, an organization created in October 2005 to educate the American public about the cause of the levee failures and catastrophic flooding in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrin ...
founder of Levees.org. The rationale was that this relatively small group of people decides who will spend upward of $60 million of taxpayer money annually and provided an opportunity for corruption. The state legislature agreed and passed HB266 by a vote of 37-0 in the Senate and 93-0 in the House requiring term limits. Rosenthal and the bills's sponsor were invited by Governor
John Bel Edwards
John Bel Edwards (born September 16, 1966) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 56th governor of Louisiana since 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the Democratic leader of the Louisiana House of ...
to the Capitol Press Room for a special signing on June 16, 2017.
Inspections, Analysis and Public Reporting
The current chair of the SLFPA nominating committee stated in an email communication on Nov 17, 2015 that "...the Louisiana legislature created SLFPAE to focus on flood protection across parish boundaries, including the oversight of the Corps of Engineers that OLD claimed to provide. Note that "oversight" includes independent inspection, analysis, and public reporting...." Despite this focus, the corps gave all parts of the system a ranking of "minimally acceptable" and repeatedly warned the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East and -West and the state's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority that maintenance issues pose a continuing threat to individual pieces of the levee system.
And despite the focus on public reporting, there is no record that the SLFPA alerted the public of the low ranking.
See also
*
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
*
Orleans Levee Board From 1890 through 2006, the Orleans Levee Board was the body of commissioners that oversaw the Orleans Levee District (OLD) which supervised the levee and floodwall system in Orleans Parish, Louisiana (which is coextensive with the city of New Orl ...
*
Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority
The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) is a governmental authority created by the Louisiana Legislature in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The organization takes advantage of both federal and state funding ...
References
*Louisiana Revised Statut
§38:330.1
External links
Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - East, official websiteBoard Members for East and West
{{authority control
State agencies of Louisiana
2006 establishments in Louisiana
Government agencies established in 2006