By james art BATON ROUGE – The state legislative auditor says there needs to be more oversight of the Louisiana Oilfield Recovery Association, or LORA, in its orphan well program.
The program was overseen by the Conservation Office and Johnny Adams, the husband of Metro Council Member Lori Adams.
This month, WBRZ’s investigative department revealed an abuse investigation into Johnny Adams. The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office is investigating whether LORA provided funds to Johnny Adams to purchase his $780,000 home on Oakbrook Drive. Documents show the sheriff’s office got involved after the Auditor’s Office sought help. After learning of the investigation from WBRZ’s investigative department, the state suspended Johnny Adams with pay.
Two reports from the state legislative auditor’s office came out Monday: one addressing problems identified in previous audits and the other calling for renewed oversight of LORA. The audits focused primarily on the orphan well program, but also touched on how its finances are controlled.
Gina Brown of the legislative auditor’s office says more needs to be done to monitor the company. Brown said it is the Conservation Service’s responsibility to provide the necessary oversight. Brown told WBRZ that the Conservation Service did not include provisions in the joint effort agreement to ensure that LORA was operating in the best interest of the state.
“LORA really makes up such a big part of the financial security in the state. Do they not have a contingency plan if LORA goes bankrupt, if LORA ceases to exist,” Brown said.
The auditor says that while LORA was established in 2019, the audit shows a significant increase in abandoned oil wells over the past few years.
“There are over 4,000 years of them and they can be a hazard, an environmental hazard, a safety hazard to the citizens of the state and to the state itself,” Brown said.