BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana's coastal restoration agency has a new leader.
Gov. Bobby Jindal on Friday announced the appointment of Chip Kline to be chairman of the state's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, known as CPRA. The job involves overseeing state work on a massive, multibillion-dollar coastal restoration plan.
The governor's office said Jerome "Zee" Zeringue — who had been in the position for less than a year — has left the job "to pursue other opportunities." Kline had worked as deputy director for coastal activities in Jindal's office before being named CPRA chairman.
Zeringue was paid $160,000 annually for the job. The governor's office said Kline would be paid $135,000 a year.
In a statement, Jindal praised Zeringue's work and said Kline would also be a strong advocate for coastal Louisiana.
