BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana’s Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR) will complete its reorganization into the Department of Conservation and Energy (C&E) on Oct. 1, marking the culmination of nearly two years of planning and legislative work.
The change follows an executive order by Gov. Jeff Landry and the Departmental Review for Innovation and Visionary Enhancement (DRIVE) Initiative led by former Secretary Tyler Gray. Gray stepped down earlier this month, and Deputy Secretary Dustin Davidson was appointed to succeed him.
Davidson said the restructuring is intended to modernize the agency, streamline permitting, and improve coordination across functions that were previously divided among separate offices.
DENR’s four-division structure will be replaced with six offices under the new C&E:
- Office of the Secretary, overseeing strategic management, legal services, and specialized functions such as oilfield site restoration and spill response.
- Office of Administration, handling strategic planning, human resources, and fiscal operations.
- Office of Permitting and Compliance, consolidating coastal and non-coastal permitting.
- Office of Enforcement, conducting inspections and enforcing state and federal program rules.
- Office of State Resources, managing state land leasing, rights-of-way, and mineral oversight.
- Office of Energy, focusing on energy resilience, tracking industry trends, and administering federal energy grants.
Davidson said the transition will take time as staff and regulated industries adjust to new workflows and processes.