After several years of investigation, the Legislative Auditor has released a detailed audit of the Guillory administration’s controversial spoil banks project.
Here’s the auditor’s press release overview:
“Investigative auditors found that the Lafayette Consolidated Government (LCG) undertook a public works project involving the removal of a spoil bank on the St. Martin Parish side of the Vermilion River and its reconstruction on the Lafayette Parish side of the river, allegedly for flood mitigation purposes. Auditors determined that LCG carried out the project without obtaining the required legal authority, land rights, or permits — raising significant legal, regulatory, and intergovernmental concerns. Specifically, LCG expended public funds outside of its jurisdiction without a joint service agreement or cooperative endeavor agreement, as required by its Home Rule Charter and Louisiana law; performed work on land it did not fully own, without documented consent from a known co-owner; failed to obtain a local permit from St. Martin Parish Government; and withdrew its federal permit application from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but then proceeded with the project anyway.”
The report is directed to LCG, with a letter that says “copies of this report have been delivered to the District Attorney for the 15th Judicial District of Louisiana, the United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, and others as required by law.”
The investigation looked at the spoil banks project that happened in St. Martin Parish three years ago and spawned multiple lawsuits and investigations. The project, which auditors say was given the “code name” of “Apollo,” was completed in St. Martin Parish. It removed decades-old levees on property partially owned by LCG. St. Martin Parish officials said that LCG did the project in the dark of night, and without permits from either the parish or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. LCG already had filed for a permit at a different location with the Corps; that permit application was withdrawn after St. Martin told the Corps that no parish permits for it would be granted. The project has reportedly sparked numerous investigations, including ongoing probes by the Legislative Auditor, the FBI, the EPA and the Corps.
“Our investigative audit determined that LCG executed this project without securing the required legal authority, land rights, or permits — raising significant legal, regulatory, and intergovernmental concerns. Specifically, LCG expended public funds outside of its jurisdiction without a joint service agreement or cooperative endeavor agreement, as required by its Home Rule Charter and Louisiana law; performed work on land that LCG did not fully own, without documented consent from a known co-owner; failed to obtain a local permit from St. Martin Parish Government (SMP); withdrew its federal permit application from USACE but proceeded with the project regardless. These actions potentially violated LCG’s charter, an SMP ordinance, and multiple provisions of state and federal law,” the audit states.
The investigation started with complaints, the report notes.
“The Louisiana Legislative Auditor initiated this audit to determine the validity of complaints we received regarding LCG’s use of public assets and funds,” the audit states.
To conduct the investigation, they interviewed LCG employees and officials as well as “other persons,” reviewed documents and records, and reviewed the law.
The audit addresses a 25-page response that Guillory released, accusing the LLA of various and sundry things, including bias, political motivations and misconduct. Both he and Logan offered detailed arguments as to why the auditors’ findings aren’t correct.
“This criticism reflects a broader pattern in Mr. Guillory’s response: ordinary, professional, and voluntary interactions are presented as evidence of misconduct. By characterizing routine cooperation as “interference,” the response misstates the facts and invites conclusions not supported by the record. Such mischaracterizations call into question the reliability of this, and other allegations contained in his response,” the audit states.
“This report is silent on the lawsuits that LCG lost during Mr. Guillory’s term in office. There was ample information available to report on, including the millions of dollars LCG paid in response to lawsuits and the legal fees paid to attorneys. However, we took the position that because the courts had already decided these matters, there was no need to address them further in this report,” the report notes.
In addition to Guillory’s detailed responses, the report also includes detailed legal opinions from Logan, as to why the processes involved were, in fact, in compliance with the law. In that letter, Logan accuses former St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars of misconduct, accuses a property appraiser of “professional malpractice” and alleges that the Executive Chief of Staff at the time was the one who proceeded with the project.