Industry in flux: Troubled industry tries to weather rough waters
September 28, 2016Training tomorrow’s workers: Nicholls stays ahead
September 28, 2016
The Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s office is now under the leadership of someone familiar to Bayou Region residents.
Marty J. Chabert, son of the late Sen. Leonard J. Chabert and brother of current State Sen. Norby Chabert – who himself once represented the region in the state senate – will oversee oil spill operations on behalf of the state. He was appointed in August by Gov. John Bel Edwards.
“The safety of our citizens is my top priority, and to that end, Louisiana needs our very best public servants working to implement innovative public safety measures across state agencies and throughout Louisiana,” said Edwards, upon announcing Chabert’s appointment. “Between his personal work experience in the oil services business to his state service as a senator and senior staffer at DOTD, Marty is well suited to lead LOSCO.”
The Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office is a division of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. LOSCO functions to ensure effective coordination and representation of the State’s interests in all matters related to oil spill response including restoration of natural resources and protection of the public. LOSCO also focuses on prevention of oil spills by educating the public of oil spill risks and by sponsoring research to improve oil spill prevention techniques. The position pays $104,000 annually.
Chabert, a Democrat, served a single term from 1992 to 1996, succeeding his father, who died in office in 1991.
“I grew up in the offshore supply boat business, in the oil field, and having been a legislator, dealing with a lot of the state issues, the job fits both,” Chabert said last week in an interview. “I am excited but more than that I think I can do the state good and do our people good.”
The new OSC acknowledges that some aspects of the job require a learning curve, but that he’s been right there – with enthusiasm – to soak up the knowledge.
A system for managing oiled birds during the state’s most recent oil spill near Grand Isle gave Chabert an opportunity to learn how rehabilitators do their work first hand. The fact that shooting a net to catch a maximum number of shorebirds for gentle cleansing with Dawn detergent can in some cases lead to more trauma than the oil itself, Chabert noted, was a nuance of the task that is new to him.
Long-standing relationships in Louisiana’s bayou communities with commercial fishermen and others related to that industry, he noted, will allow open channels of communication and information-sharing that he hopes can lead to smooth, cooperative interaction in clutch situations where rumor and supposition can sometimes stand in the way of effective management of an oil crisis.
A Vandebilt Catholic High graduate and attendee Nicholls State University, Chabert’s interest in public service did not wane when he left elective politics. Public service continued behind the scenes as a member of the LSU Board of Supervisors, the University of Louisiana Board of Supervisors and member of the Louisiana Board of Regents.
Working directly for Gov. Edwards, Chabert said, is a bonus because he is serving a chief executive he believes in. And thus far his experience with State Police Col. Mike Edmonson, he said, has been immensely positive. His plans for development of the office include re-establishment of an all-but-abandoned interagency council to improve oil spill operations. Key members of that team will include South Lafourche Levee District Chairman Perry Gisclair and State Rep. Stuart Bishop R-Lafayette.
“I enjoy government and I enjoy working with industry,” Chabert said. “It’s kind of like my kid said, since you started doing this you got your pep back in your step.”
