A request to elevate the status of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ New Orleans District to answer directly to Washington, D.C. instead of the Mississippi Valley Division in Vicksburg came as a surprise to Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh, according to a statement issued Monday by the division chief.

The suggestion was made during a high-water inspection and hearing Friday in New Orleans held by the Mississippi River Commission, of which Walsh is president-designee.

Garret Graves, director of the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Coastal Affairs, told the seven-member body that such a move would shorten wait times for decisions on about $15 billion in flood control projects in south Louisiana and areas along the Mississippi River.

The New Orleans District is one of six Corps districts that report to the Mississippi Valley Division, and the division here is one of eight across the nation. Districts report to divisions, and divisions report to headquarters in Washington.

Changing the arrangement to bypass the MVD did not come up in discussions Walsh had with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal in the weeks leading up to the hearing, Walsh said through a spokesman.

“I will address Mr. Graves’ comments, along with all other public meeting presenters, with a written response,” Walsh said. “I plan to speak with Gov. Jindal on a regular basis concerning any issues that he may have.”

Walsh also appeared to address criticism on the Corps’ organizational structure, one that Graves told commissioners meeting in New Orleans was cumbersome and “not as efficient as it could be.”

Graves called Corps officials in New Orleans “outstanding” but unable to carry out responsibilities without waiting for evaluations from the Vicksburg office.

“I have just come back from Iraq where I had command and control over all Corps elements that were in nearly all 18 provinces in combat conditions and had a program of about $13 billion. I can provide command and control over New Orleans District,” read part of Walsh’s statement.

Other inspection hearings were held earlier in the week in Tennessee and in Lake Providence. The MRC’s board is appointed by the president and includes three officers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, an official of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and three civilians, two of whom must be civil engineers.

Among the MRC’s advisory duties are recommending policy and work programs, studying and reporting on modifications or changes to the Mississippi River and Tributaries project, created by Congress in 1928, commenting on matters authorized by law, making inspection trips and holding hearings that gather input from the public.

MVD work is conducted by Corps district offices in St. Paul, Minn., Rock Island, Ill., St. Louis, Memphis, Vicksburg and New Orleans. Under the most recent Corps reorganization, MVD was given oversight of the river basin from the border with Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.