The fate of Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and further efforts to reshape the state Department of Energy and Natural Resources will be the focus of a new commission that will have its first meeting on June 18, DENR Secretary Tyler Gray said Friday.
A proposal on the table to potentially merge the CPRA, which oversees coastal restoration and hurricane protection projects, with the state's energy offices has concerned coastal advocates who fear the agency's widely lauded efforts will be deprioritized.
The Natural Resources Steering Commission, created by an executive order issued by Gov. Jeff Landry, has three members: DENR's Gray, CPRA board chairman Gordon Dove, and Office of Conservation Commissioner Benjamin Bienvenu.
Gray discussed the commission, efforts to reshape his department and future changes to CPRA during a Friday morning Public Affairs Research Council webinar. The discussion also included state House Rep. Jerome Zeringue, R-Houma and a former head of the CPRA, and Simone Maloz, campaign coordinator for Restore the Mississippi Delta, a consortium of national and state environmental groups that has supported the state’s coastal restoration efforts.
In a Feb. 1 executive order, Landry called on Gray to consider ways to coordinate and consolidate natural resources and energy functions within DENR, including CPRA, the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office and the Office of State Lands.
Coastal advocates feared the move could deprioritize the state's land loss crisis after years of efforts to address it.
A bill being considered by the Legislature this year would move the oil spill and state lands offices into DENR, but stops short of moving CPRA.
A separate bill does cut six members from the CPRA board. Both bills are to be considered Tuesday by the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee, which includes Zeringue.
Gray said a second commission meeting will be held at the end of July and a final one before the end of the state’s budget fiscal year on Oct. 31. The plan, he said, was to assure that any recommendations for changes in both agencies could be presented to the 2025 Legislature.
Another major goal that he has set for the commission is to help him cut expenses in the reshaped department by 10% for next year’s budget.
He said his goals for the commission include reshaping DENR to deal with the increased importance of alternative energy sources. The commission also will be tasked with consolidating as many state agency and board natural resources functions into DENR, including addressing CPRA’s future.
But that also includes a new Office of Land & Water Management within DENR that would oversee a variety of surface water and groundwater resource duties now under other agencies, including the Capital Area Ground Water Conservation District, Sparta Groundwater Conservation District and other regional groundwater agencies, and watershed management now located within the Office of Community Development.
The agency estimates there are now separate land and water programs overseen by 20 executive branch departments and more than 450 state and local boards and commissions.
“It’s also about evaluating opportunities in expanding expertise outside geographical limitations without building out new agencies, ie, provide more value for citizens with existing processes,” he said after the webinar.
What remains unclear is whether CPRA will actually be merged with DENR.
Both Zeringue and Maloz raised concerns about the potential loss of focus on coastal restoration and hurricane protection projects now overseen by CPRA.
“The point of changing something for the sake of change is something that I think we need to be cognizant of,” said Zeringue, who served as deputy director and director of CPRA between 2008 and 2015.
The CPRA, he said, is one of the state’s most efficient and effective agencies, working within its budget and personnel limitations, considering the magnitude and responsibility involved in its projects. “And tweaking it for the sake of tweaking it wouldn’t make sense,” Zeringue said.
Zeringue also warned that a provision in HB 1, the bill governing the state budget, would allow any part of any state agency overseen by the governor -- including CPRA -- to be moved to any other agency during the budget year, giving the secretary of the Division of Administration to adust various budgets to deal with the move. The provision requires the changes to be approved by the Division of Administration and the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.
Maloz warned that consolidation efforts might be looked at as “mission creep” by the public, which has shown a significant level of support for the state’s science-based 50-year, $50 billion coastal restoration and flood protection Master Plan.
“We have a poll that says 92% of Louisianans believe in a science-based Master Plan,” she said.