WWL
NEW ORLEANS, LA. - City officials are scheduled to give an update Friday on the status of repairs at New Orleans’ drainage pumping stations.
Members of the Sewerage and Water Board will hold a special meeting to discuss repairs and possibly appoint a new interim director. The meeting starts at 1 p.m.
The meeting will include the leadership already in place at the S&WB as well as the team Mayor Mitch Landrieu put in place to lead during hurricane season. The mayor is confident that the team will make necessary changes within the S&WB.
The team is being led by Paul Rainwater, a familiar Louisiana figure who has served several governors, most recently serving as Bobby Jindal’s chief of staff. Rainwater is veteran crisis manager who served crucial roles in a string of Louisiana disasters starting with Hurricane Katrina. He made the short list to become director of FEMA under President Trump.
Other members of the team are:
-- Terrence Ginn, a Baton Rouge-based deputy commissioner for finance & administration with the Louisiana Board of Regents.
-- Renee Lapeyrolerie, a public relations and communications expert who now works at the engineering firm, CDM Smith, in addition to serving as a board member of Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District.
-- Ehab Meselhe, an academic and engineer who now serves as Vice President for Science and Engineering at the Water Institute of the Gulf.
-- Owen Monconduit, a retired Brigadier General from the Louisiana National Guard, who will provide engineering, contracting and procurement support for the emergency repairs.
-- Robert “Bob” Turner, who serves as director of Engineering and Operations at the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East. He is a civil engineer with more than 35 years of experience.