BATON ROUGE - In October, The Investigative Unit learned the husband of Metro Council member Laurie Adams is under criminal investigation for potential malfeasance.

According to court documents, a 2019 contract he oversaw with the Office of Conservation could have helped him purchase his current $780,000 home, and while that investigation is ongoing, a separate audit is evaluating oversight.

The legislative auditor's office has been calling for a revamp at LORA, or the Louisiana Oilfield Restoration Association, a group that works to get rid of abandoned oil wells in the state. They say there’s not enough oversight for the organization's finances. The legislative auditor’s office says the problems start at the contract’s inception.

Gina Brown with the legislative auditor’s office tells WBRZ the number of abandoned oil wells in the state has increased in recent years, not decreased since LORA was created. Their cooperative endeavor agreement does not ensure the group operates in the state’s best interest.

“Our orphaned oil well population is increasing, and it's going to take $500 million to plug them, and they pose a danger to our citizens,” Brown said. ”It's a statewide impact.”

Brown says there’s not a lot of protection for the state built into the agreement, and if LORA doesn’t work out or if the agreement is terminated, there are some unanswered questions.

“They have a reserve of $5 million and they secure $150 million (worth of) wells. All of those wells would come to the state if LORA no longer existed."