The national leadership of the Army Corps of Engineers, Gov. Jeff Landry and a wide range of Louisiana officials gathered in Baton Rouge on Friday for what was called a first-of-its-kind “summit” aimed at speeding up projects and permitting, a longtime source of complaints by the state.
Louisiana offered a natural choice to hold the gathering that Corps leadership said could provide an example for similar meetings in other states. The Corps’ New Orleans district includes the agency’s biggest civil works and dredging programs, and Landry is a close ally of President Donald Trump, providing a friendly welcome to officials from his administration.
But it also came with concerns over uncertainty related to certain categories of planned home elevation projects in Louisiana, with Corps leadership having spoken of reevaluating whether it should be the agency to carry those out on a large scale…