4 PILOTS OFF RIVER AFTER DRUG TESTING

One Of Them Used An Illegal Substance

Four state-commissioned river pilots who guide large oceangoing ships along
the Mississippi River were ordered to stop working this week after tests
showed they have used drugs that could affect their ability to work safely.

One of the pilots tested positive for an illegal substance, while concerns
about the other three pilots centered on their use of prescription drugs.

All four pilots are members of the New Orleans-Baton Rouge Steamship Pilots
Association, which is under investigation by a federal grand jury. The drug
use was revealed Wednesday after NOBRA officials ordered all 84 of the
group's members to undergo drug testing at a local laboratory in recent weeks.

During their suspensions, the pilots will receive their average pay while
their tests are being evaluated. NOBRA pilots make about $321,000 per year.

An oversight board composed of three NOBRA pilots voted unanimously
Wednesday to ask Gov. Foster for permission to conduct an investigation of
Pat Gale, the pilot who tested positive for an illegal drug. Board members
would not identify the drug.

Gale declined to comment.

In a separate matter, the board voted unanimously to seek Foster's approval
to open an investigation into the conduct of David L. Wartenburg, another
NOBRA pilot. Board members would not discuss the nature of the complaint
against the pilot. Unlike the other pilots, Wartenburg will be allowed to
continue working while the investigation proceeds.

NOBRA is one of three groups of pilots that have a monopoly right to guide
foreign ships on the lower Mississippi, which is considered the most
treacherous maritime route in the nation. NOBRA is in charge of the route
between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

The Associated Branch Pilots, which runs ships between the Gulf of Mexico
and Pilottown a few miles from the river's mouth, has not conducted any
recent mandatory drug tests of all members. The Crescent River Port Pilots
Association, which takes ships between Pilottown and New Orleans, would not
comment on whether its pilots have been tested recently.

A rare occurrence

The measures taken by NOBRA and its oversight board Wednesday were an
extraordinary occurrence among the highly fraternal river pilot
associations. The groups are self-regulated organizations that rarely
investigate or discipline their members, according to records obtained by
The Times-Picayune. Most pilot groups in other states are subject to
independent oversight.

The groups also select their own members, mostly relatives of existing members.

A federal grand jury in New Orleans is investigating allegations that some
pilot apprentices elected to NOBRA in April fraudulently obtained Coast
Guard licenses by falsifying information about the amount of time they
worked as mariners. The grand jury has subpoenaed extensive financial
records from NOBRA, and federal lawyers will not reveal the extent of the
probe.

Peter Connick, an attorney for the NOBRA Board of Examiners, said an
investigation of the three pilots' prescription drug use is not warranted
because they are taking medicine ordered by their doctors. Connick declined
to identify the pilots or the type of drugs they are taking.

"These pilots did nothing wrong," Connick said. "This action was taken
purely as a precautionary measure."

Michael Nance, one of the directors, said the board decided to order the
drug tests after a recent series of articles about river pilots in The
Times-Picayune raised questions about drug use among pilots. The license of
NOBRA pilot Roy Bowers was revoked this year after he tested positive for
illegal drugs, and two Crescent pilots were suspended after they tested
positive for cocaine in 2000.

"Based on the newspaper articles and the rumors we were hearing, we knew we
had to address the situation," Nance said. "We wanted to find out if we had
any problems and correct them."

NOBRA President Joe Clayton said he is "disappointed" in the results of the
drug sweep.

"I would have made a serious bet that we were going to come up 100 percent
clean," Clayton said. "We will take care of the problem."

Pilots get advance notice

Unlike the group's normal drug-testing procedures, in which pilots are
tested randomly and with little notice, NOBRA pilots had as long as two
weeks to submit to the most recent round of testing, Nance said. They were
required to submit to a urine test, which is typical in random testing, and
a hair test, which is tougher to beat and is usually done to confirm a
positive urine test.

A national drug-testing expert criticized the advance notice, saying NOBRA
officials greatly reduced their chances of catching drug users by giving
them so much time to report. Bill Gibbs, president of the drug-testing
service Norchem in Flagstaff, Ariz., said he considers any test with more
than a few hours' notice "worthless."

"In a week's time, a person can drink 30 gallons of water and run four
marathons. They can clean themselves up pretty quickly in that time," Gibbs
said. "Drugs are metabolized by the body's cleaning organs. So if you have
a good, healthy system, they will process the drugs pretty quickly."

Nance said it was impractical to test all 84 pilots in a 24-hour period,
because some of them were working on ships at the time and others were out
of town on vacation. "They could only test one man every 15 minutes," Nance
said.

Connick said the three pilots with prescription medication concerns will be
subject to review by an occupational medicine expert, who will evaluate the
types of drugs they are taking to see whether the pilots pose a threat on
the river or whether their medication can be changed.

Clayton said he is unaware of any complaints against the three pilots or
any evidence that their performance has been impaired.

Chief unaware of concerns

Clayton said he is also unaware of any concerns about the performance of
Wartenburg. He criticized the oversight board for not telling him about the
problem before taking action Wednesday, since the association is
responsible for dispatching pilots.

"If there is a question about his ability, how would I know whether to put
him in rotation or not to put him in rotation?" Clayton said. "That is a
pretty critical issue here. For the good of the organization, they should
inform me."

Connick said the Wartenburg investigation does not have anything to do with
drugs or alcohol. He declined to describe the conduct that led to the
complaint except to say it involves his duties as a pilot and could involve
such charges as misconduct, incompetence or gross negligence.

Wartenburg, who has been involved in two collisions in the past nine years,
said he doesn't know why the board is taking action against him. The board
did not punish Wartenburg or any of the pilots involved in NOBRA's 97
reported accidents since 1990.

"Both of those incidents were not my fault," Wartenburg said Wednesday.
"I've been a pilot for 12 years, and I have a perfect record."

In a separate matter, NOBRA officials released election results for new
association officers.

Pilots elected a new slate of leaders last week by defeating longtime NOBRA
President Joe Clayton and two other incumbent officers.

Clayton, who was first elected president in 1984, lost his re-election bid
to W.L. Watson III. Watson received 54 votes to Clayton's 30. The officers
serve one-year terms.