Gov. Jeff Landry on Thursday publicly addressed the turmoil at the New Orleans area’s flood protection authority for the first time since he and his allies began a controversial reshaping of the agency to increase its focus on policing.
In an appearance on WWL Radio, the governor said working with the levee board has been “frustrating” and called on it to release an investigative report into alleged wrongdoing at the agency — a report that the agency has said it does not have. He also complained about the process by which board members are nominated, and defended his efforts to expand the agency’s police department.
The flood protection agency, officially known as the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East, is responsible for overseeing much of the $14.5 billion system of levees and pumps that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina’s catastrophic levee failures. Over the last couple years, board members have resigned in protest over changes Landry’s allies have pursued…