The Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) issued the following statement today in support of the core framework for governance of the Southeast Louisiana flood protection authorities (click the button above to download a PDF copy):
The governor’s advisers have alleged that the New Orleans area’s vital flood protection infrastructure hasn’t been kept in working order and that funding dedicated for this purpose has been wasted. While blaming the leadership of the authorities tasked with managing the $14.5 billion levee system, they have not provided any details or evidence of the problems. The communities whose survival depends on the levees – and whose tax dollars fund their maintenance – need thorough explanations, not accusations. Without complete information, they cannot effectively assess upcoming legislation to alter the post-Katrina framework for flood protection governance that the governor plans to pursue.
Almost 20 years ago, residents and community leaders recognized the existential threat of flood risk in Southeast Louisiana. They drove changes to state law to make the region’s levee boards less parochial, more professional and singularly focused on flood protection. The new model consolidated individual boards under two regional entities, one on each bank of the Mississippi River: the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East and the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West. Chief among the coalition’s aims was ensuring that the authorities’ boards of commissioners were selected for their expertise in flood protection-related and other relevant fields – not their political connections or views. The new laws promoted board competence, focus and political independence by establishing professional requirements for commissioners and a committee of experts to select the candidates the governor can appoint. The laws further worked to ensure the authorities focused solely on flood protection and prohibited them from controlling properties used for other purposes.
The framework for flood protection governance adopted in the wake of the 2005 levee failures was carefully constructed by residents and policymakers who put any differences aside to put levees first. The Bureau of Governmental Research supported the framework. This is not to say that a governance structure must always remain exactly as originally created. Indeed, the Legislature last amended the flood protection authority laws in 2022. But it has always kept the core objective intact: expert, politically independent flood protection management. The governor and the Legislature should do likewise if they contemplate any changes to flood authority laws in the upcoming session. If they do see areas for improvement, they must explain to the public any problems that have occurred and show how their proposed solutions would be effective and strengthen flood protection governance.