Dupre: Panel needs to be revitalized

The Governor’s Advisory Commission on Coastal Protection, Restoration and Conservation has a role to play, but the panel needs to be revitalized, said state Sen. Reggie Dupre (D-Houma).

According to Dupre, the duties of the 30-plus member commission, created under former governor Mike Foster, have been largely taken over by the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, formed by the legislature in 2005 in response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita to oversee hurricane protection and coastal restoration efforts.

Because it borders the Gulf, the Tri-parishes have several representatives on the commission. Dupre and state Rep. Damon Baldone (D-Houma) both sit on the commission as ex-officio members because they chair the Natural Resources committees in their respective chambers.

The other members on the panel from the Tri-parishes are state Rep. Gordon Dove (R-Houma), Houma lawyer Berwick Duval, Greater Lafourche Port Commission Director Ted Falgout and Michael Voisin, Houma seafood processor and president of the Terrebonne Economic Development Authority board, who represents the oyster industry on the commission.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal made his first appointments to the commission on July 31, but the new panel has yet to meet, according to Baldone. Dupre said the body normally meets quarterly.

“We now have CPRA as the main policy board,” said Dupre, who is a member of CPRA along with state Rep. Joe Harrison (R-Labadieville) and Windell Curole, director of the South Lafourche and Terrebonne levee districts. “The commission allows different segments of the population to participate in the coastal protection process in developing priorities.”

“I wish it would be more active advising the governor on policy issues,” Dupre said. “It does serve a good purpose of having interest groups sit at one table to voice their concerns.”

“The commission is more like a sounding board,” he added.

State Rep. Gordon Dove (R-Houma), who sits on the commission as the designee of the speaker of the house (who sits on the panel ex-officio), said Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal intends to do exactly what Dupre wants.

He said the commission, like many boards, started out active, then sputtered.

“Under Blanco, it wasn’t that active,” said Dove, who chairs the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee. “Jindal wants it to be more active.”

Dove acknowledged that CPRA is by far the main state player dealing with hurricane protection and coastal restoration issues, along with Garret Graves, director of the Governor’s Office of Coastal Affairs.

“CPRA dispenses all the projects,” Dove said. “It’s the main board for coastal restoration. It’s like another department.”

“Graves is really the point man for the governor,” he said. “He’s really got the governor’s ear.”

Baldone said the commission’s purpose is to advise the governor on where to spend coastal protection and restoration money. He praised the way Jindal pushed the Legislature to spend state budget surplus money on hurricane protection efforts.

“Unlike before, we have $1 billion to put toward coastal restoration,” he said.

The commission needs to set priorities, determining which projects to complete, “whether to save a levee or restore wetlands,” he said. “Prioritize spending dollars with the best benefits for what we need to do.”

Baldone said he believed the panel would have met already to do reassessments after the hurricanes, especially damage sustained by barrier islands.

All three state legislators are longtime members of the commission, but Voisin was appointed for the first time in July.

The CEO of Motivatit Seafoods had worked with Jindal while the current governor was in Congress. He also worked on Jindal’s transition team.

Like Baldone, he said the commission’s role is to advise the governor on the best methods for conserving and protecting the coast.

“We’re making the plans real,” Voisin said. “A lot of things are happening. We’ve got a constant funding source to get projects on the ground. We’ve done enough studies. We’ll make things happen.”