Sinkhole Monster Eating S. La Viral Video: State Responds To Nat'l Outcry

The dramatic viral video of Louisiana’s sinkhole swallowing trees in less than a minute Wednesday, that even piqued interest of mainstream news, has resulted in a state response: we’ve expected this; it’s all Texas Brine’s fault, and public safety is not an issue.

The Department of Natural resources head Stephen Chustz issued on Friday the official statement below regarding Wednesday’s sinkhole event and local emergency head John Boudreaux’s video. That video has drawn more attention to the plight of the locals in the national sacrifice zone than has client advocate Erin Brockvitich’s involvement by representing locals there.

Below is the state response, dissected.

State Response:The sinkhole has continued to grow over time as we’ve expected. This growth is due to surface water, soil and broken rock that has moved down to fill the space created by the Texas Brine cavern operation that failed in August 2012.

The state issued a permit for Texas Brine to create its cavern in the salt dome, without adequately overseeing the exact placement of that cavern, that the state now claims was too close to the salt dome edge. It admitted the same damage and harm could occur at some of the other approximately 60 salt domes in Louisiana, and finally, after the Bayou Corne sinkhole disaster significantly worsened over months, it ordered some of those dome operators to prove their operations were safe.

Furthermore, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources is still issuing new permits at the salt dome where the sinkhole is large enough to accomodate the Louisiana Superdome. ”This is a man-made disaster. There is natural gas in their aquifer, H2S gas there,” outraged south Louisiana resident Glo Conlin said about the disaster yesterday.

State Response: This movement is something we expect as the sinkhole shifts out into the predicted area.

The predicted size was “30 acres.” That’s only five or six acres more than what it is now, but officials have also indicated that there is really little to no way to stop its expansion. It is destined to join two bayous, Grand Bayou and Bayou Corne.  At that point, it is unknown what its size will be, as those two bayous empty into nearby Lake Verret.

The failed cavern operation also created a pathway for underground oil and natural gas to rise to the surface.

Remember, this is not just a “failed cavern operation.” It is a state-sponsored, petrochemical industry, man-made disaster. The petrochemical service company Texas Brine was permitted by the state to inject water into the Napoleonville Salt Dome cavern to make brine, sodium chloride, that was then sold to the petrochemical industry.

The company had stopped, plugged and abandoned this particular cavern in 2010 for “integrity issues” meaning they knew it was weak and so did the state officials, including then DNR head,  Scott Angelle and Gov. Bobby Jindal. Soon after the sinkhole became public knowledge and the disaster was declared, Angelle quietly resigned from DNR. Jindal praised his work.

(Also noteworthy is that, due to America’s addiction to oil and the petrochemical industry, companies such as Texas Brine exist). 

We have seen similar sloughing events several times in the past, often covering areas much larger than that which we saw Wednesday.

In many of those events, the true size of the growth went unreported for days, while the growth spurt continued.

We have the best experts in the world working to get this community back to normal as quickly and safely as possible.

The area has become a sacrifice zone. The community cannot be returned to its original condtion. First, the zone encompassed Grand Bayou where residents fled or were forced to leave and never return due to methane leaks and various other assaults. Now, the zone is encompassing Bayou Corne. Environmental attorney Stuart Smith has said it could take years to resolve the sinkhole disaster. 

I can certainly understand the concerns of those who saw the slough footage released Wednesday who may be seeing the sinkhole movement for the first time.

Finally, after more than a year, the sinkhole cat’s out of the bag, thanks to local emergency coordinator John Boudreaux’s viral video. The nation’s been exposed to its shocking disaster. Finally, at least 3 million people have seen its frightening destructive nature, a glimpse of what locals have lived with over a year.

And for the people of Assumption Parish, as well as those from the outlying areas who are following the response to the situation, I want to assure you that the State of Louisiana has dedicated all possible resources to maintain the highest standard of safety for the public, as well as those who are on-site working on the ongoing emergency response. 

Oh? Has the state seized all of Texas Brine’s assets to cover a proper emergency response, one that cares for the welfare of impacted residents?

Has the state halted Crosstex from shifting its flammable products from one sinkhole salt dome cavern to another and required it to remove them from the salt dome altogether?

Has the state halted all seven companies’ operation in the salt dome?

No. 

Instead, the state permitted Crosstex to pipe its dangerous product some feet further away, an operation that coincidentally had just begun with the latest big event in the sinkhole.

The state ordered Texas Brine to drill and drill more. often having to halt those ordered drillings due to sudden extra seismic activity.

The state gave the green light to the other five petrochemical companies operating there to continue.

Has the state diverted all funds for its false advertisements about safety of the Gulf, and subsidies for oil and gas companies, to look after the welfare of the beleaguered residents put in harm’s way and made into energy refugees over the past year? No.

This is not reassuring regarding the safety and wellbeing of most residents, according to their comments over the past year, one most recent one being: “We might want to ask the governor (Bobby Jindal) if he’s waiting for someone to get killed on the job site before he shuts down production and just leaves emergency personnel there to deal with this.” 

These movements do not present a new threat to public safety. 

If those movements do not present a new threat to public safety, why did the state issue a Code 3 alert (from a Code 1) after Wednesday’s event?

The bottom line is that DNR and the coordinated state and parish response agencies will continue our efforts to hold Texas Brine accountable for the impact of its failed cavern, to keep the public safe during the response and to do all that we can to provide for the future safety of the public and the environment – and we are committed to that effort until the best available science confirms that the community is once again safe.

The public cannot be “kept safe”. Scientists studying the situation have made it quite clear that the public is not safe, and the state has issued a mandatory evacuation order. There is no reason to expect the public or the environment to be made safe again in the foreseeable future, with a massive petrochemical swamp situated over a geological shambles that will remain unstable for a long time to come, about to breach two bayous that empty into a large lake.

Additional Response Information, as provided by WAFB News, include:

The seismic monitoring systems ordered by the Office of Conservation in Bayou Corn are continuously monitoring for potentially hazardous subsurface developments. These systems detected seismic signals indicative of fluid and gas movement several hours before the slough-in, allowing the Assumption Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness On-Scene Commander to stop all work within the containment berms constructed around the sinkhole.

Chustz said that the ongoing study of the sinkhole’s progression help experts respond accordingly and understand the sinkhole and natural gas movement better. This monitoring is being carried out by both the multi-agency Science Work Group, created to advise the coordinated response effort, and the Blue Ribbon Commission on Bayou Corne/Grand Bayou Safety created by Governor Bobby Jindal to determine the benchmarks that must be met to provide for a safe return home for members of the community who wish to do so.

Chustz also noted that the slough-in occurred along the eastern side of the sinkhole, away from the community to the west, bringing the sinkhole no closer to La. Hwy. 70 to the north. Though operations directly on the sinkhole have been temporarily halted due to the slough-in and accompanying seismic activity, other efforts ordered by the Office of Conservation continue.

Sources: WAFB, Assumption Parish, Stuart Smith, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Examiner.com

Photo Credit: Alobar Greywalker

Human Rights news reporter Deborah Dupré is author of “Vampire of Macondo, Life, crimes and curses in south Louisiana that Powerful Forces Don’t want you to know,” packed with US mainstream media-censored stories about the BP-wrecked Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico that continues catastrophic human and environmental devastation. Dupre’s articles regularly appear in dozens of hard copy and online publications. For reprinting, republishing, or emailing her work, and for interviews, please email [email protected]