BAYOU CORNE, LA (WAFB) -
The public will have a chance to
hear what's going on at the giant sinkhole site in southeast Louisiana.
Texas Brine said there will be an
operational update meeting Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the command trailer in
Assumption Parish.
History of the Sinkhole
The sinkhole opened up in August 2012 and was roughly 1/24 of the
size it is now. The sinkhole formed when an underground salt cavern
collapsed.
In the past, seismic activity is reported, then the sinkhole burps up
debris and then a slough-in happens. Burps occur when air and gas
from deep in the sinkhole bubbles up. It can cause debris and an oily
substance to float to the top. A slough-in is when the sinkhole
swallows trees and land that is on the edge of the sinkhole.
Berms were placed around the sinkhole shortly after it opened up to
keep the oily, debris filled water contained to the sinkhole area so it
would not contaminate the area bayous.
It has more than a year since hundreds living near the giant sinkhole were forced from their homes.
Bubbles were spotted in Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou in June 2012. Two
months later, the ground opened up and left what is now a 24-acre
sinkhole. Residents were evacuated and the most affected residents began
receiving weekly checks from Texas-Brine in the amount of $875 per
week. Texas Brine owns the salt cavern that collapsed, causing the
sinkhole.
On August 2, Gov. Bobby Jindal and Attorney General Buddy Caldwell
announced the state will be suing Texas Brine for environmental damages
caused by the failed Texas Brine cavern.
Parish and Texas Brine officials agree the situation is far from
over. 3D seismic surveys show the sinkhole itself it beginning to slow
and stabilize, but the recovery is focused on another danger; natural
gas gathering underneath a nearby aquifer.
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reserved.
Source: Assumption Parish OEP
