La. ‘Sinkhole’ Warnings, Contingency Plan Enacted: Deadly Hydrogen Sulfide, 2nd Sinkhole, Increased Instability

Gov. Jindal warned Monday at a meeting in Baton Rouge with officials that deadly hydrogen sulfide could be released and another sinkhole could form if Texas Brine LLC’s second failing cavern collapses and he warned about increased instability in the Napoleonville Salt Dome, also collapsing.

A Contingency Plan has been enacted after learning Texas Brine’s second failing cavern is “less than” 200 feet from the salt dome outer wall.

The area will soon be a national sacrifice zone if the governor succeeds with his pressuring Texas Brine to buy out residents, as he said Monday that he is doing and as residents have been wanting for months.

Second failing cavern less than 200 feet from collapsing salt dome edge, Contingency Plan now in Green Status

A Contingency Plan is now in place in the “sinkhole’ disaster area after learning Texas Brine’s second failing cavern is only 200 feet from the collapsing 1-mile by 3-mile Napoleonville Salt Dome edge.

“The proposed contingency plan is based upon three color levels (green, yellow, and red) of potential seismic activity associated with the Oxy-Geismar No. 1 and the related action level as described below,” the Continency Plan text reads. “The response is currently in green status.” (See the full Contingency Plan below)

The proposed contingency plan is based upon three color levels (green, yellow, and red) of potential seismic activity associated with the Oxy-Geismar No. 1 and the related action level as described below. The response is currently in green status.

Gov. Bobby Jindal warned that three major public safety issues are at hand involving the collapsing salt dome, being called a “sinkhole,” that has thus far swallowed nine acres of Assumption Parish swampland and still hungers for more.

The governor warned that two major factors could impact public safety if the Oxy-Geismar No. 1 cavern were to collapse: a new sinkhole developing and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) released from the cap rock.

The governor’s office also warned that increased instability is possible.

Seven months after the disaster overtly began, Jindal says he’ll visit the site of a 9-acre sinkhole for the first time next week.

The collapsing 1-mile by 3-mile Napoleonville Salt Dome has forced evacuation of people in 150 nearby Bayou Corne homes. 


Energy refugees displaced since early August have “strongly criticized the governor’s absence,” WAFBreports. 



“In a new hands-on approach, Jindal visited at the governor’s mansion Monday with parish leaders and area lawmakers to discuss the state’s continuing response. He also says he’s meeting Wednesday with Texas Brine officials to push for buyouts for the evacuated families.”

That “new hands-on approach” follows on the heels of celebrity human and earth rights advocate Erin Brockovich visiting the disaster area and displaced persons this weekend, urging that lawsuits are the only way for human suffering relief.

“Environmental activist celebrity Erin Brockovich drew national attention to Louisiana’s state of emergency with her weekend visit to the oil and gas industry’s salt dome collapse “sinkhole” disaster area, telling reporters an absolute risk of explosions exists, locals need to get out and they need to sue for relief.

“Brockovich and her colleague, California attorney Thomas Girardi, hired by some of the sinkhole zone residents, were in Pierre Part for a meeting Saturday to discuss relief through legal options for residents evacuated from Bayou Corne due to the historic collapsing salt dome “sinkhole.”

“There is absolutely risks and potential for explosions,” Brockovich told WBRZ TV reporters. (See: Erin Brockovich’s LA Sinkhole Salt Dome Collapse S.O.S. Draws National Attention)

New reports regarding the Monday meeting with Jindal do not mention “explosions.”

The governor is pushing Texas Brine to buy-out residents.

The area would then officially be a national sacrifice zone, as once was the freatest fear. Now, residents say they have suffered enough and want to move out and on with their lives.

Monday’s meeting with Jindal included the following officials, who had pressured to meet with him about the oil and gas-rleated disaster:

Assumption Parish President Marty Triche, Assumption Parish Police Juror Henry Dupre, Assumption Parish Emergency Operations Center Director John Boudreaux, State Senator Rick Ward, State Representative Karen St. Germain, Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office Captain of Special Operations Bruce Prejean and officials from the Department of Natural Resources, Governor’s Office of Homeland Security, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Health and Hospitals, Department of Transportation and Development and State Police.

Contingency plan outlined

During the meeting Monday, Jindal outlined a contingency plan for Oxy-Geismar No. 1 cavern, the other cavern owned by Texas Brine, after preliminary results indicated its sidewall may be less than 200 feet from the edge of the Napoleonville salt dome, closer than indicated by previous top-of-salt maps used to define the subsurface.

“The proximity of the cavern to the salt dome increases the risk of structural instability of the cavern walls, the governor’s office says,” reports WAFB.

Scientists say the “sinkhole,” formed after an underground salt cavern operated by Houston-based Texas Brine Co. LLC, collapsed. The company extracted brine and piped it to nearby petrochemical facilities.

Monday, the governor’s office released the following information about the Oxy-Geismar No. 1 Cavern Contingency Plan: Contingency Plan for Oxy-Geismar No. 1 Cavern

Preliminary Vertical Seismic Profiles (VSP) results indicate that the Oxy-Geismar No. 1 cavern sidewall is closer to the salt dome than indicated by previous top-of-salt maps used to define the subsurface. This means the cavern has an increased risk of collapse. 3-D seismic data is needed to confirm the exact boundary distance.

The Oxy Geismar No. 1 well is inactive and has a micro-seismic array installed into it. Along with the micro-seismic array network consisting of seven surface stations and two borehole stations, the stability of the western edge of the Napoleonville Dome, including Oxy-Geismar No. 1 is being monitored for any seismic activity. The micro-seismic array measures seismic activity on 10-second intervals.

Rock-mechanics modeling is currently being performed by Office of Conservation’s contract experts to determine if a risk of collapse exists, and if so, how that would impact the surrounding area. Based upon observations associated with the collapse of the Oxy-Geismar No. 3 sidewall, a minimum of two to three months of prior warning would be expected before any surface instability would develop. 

The major factors that could impact public safety if the Oxy-Geismar No. 1 cavern were to collapse are the development of a new sinkhole and the release of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from the cap rock.

Oxy-Geismar No. 1 is also closer to La. 70 than Oxy-Geismar No. 3. The Department of Transportation and Development, in collaboration with DNR and GOHSEP, has developed a three part transportation plan in case the road is compromised: planned detours, a monitoring and warning system similar to rail road crossings, and potentially rerouting and rebuilding La. 70 farther north.

The proposed contingency plan is based upon three color levels (green, yellow, and red) of potential seismic activity associated with the Oxy-Geismar No. 1 and the related action level as described below. The response is currently in green status.

Green

Seismic Activity: no confirmed micro-seismic events associated with Oxy-Geismar No. 1 Cavern stability detected. This is the current status. Action steps include:

1. Implement monitoring system for La. 70 and prepare a La. 70 closure plan for implementation.

2. Ongoing rock-mechanics modeling of stability of western edge of Napoleonville Salt Dome and updated to provide predictive model of short and long-term stability of the western edge of the Napoleonville Salt Dome, including the Oxy-Geismar No. 1 Cavern. Forthcoming 3D Seismic data and deep geologic core will be utilized in this process.

3. Evaluate potential response actions to shore up structural integrity of Oxy-Geismar No. 1, if necessary.

4. Direct Texas Brine Company to maintain wellhead pressure in Oxy-Geismar No. 1 at a level to be approved by state experts based on current conditions and operational considerations.

5. Permitting and design work on providing alternative access in case of La. 70 closure, conducted by DOTD and its contractors.

Yellow

Seismic Activity: Initial confirmed micro-seismic events associated with Oxy 1 Cavern stability detected. Action steps include:

1. Immediately notify Assumption Parish Officials, GOHSEP, and State Police upon confirmation that micro-seismic activity has been detected. This information means that Oxy-Geismar No. 1 shows signs of potential structural instability and that surface instability associated with Oxy-Geismar No. 1 is possible within two to three months, or as otherwise determined by rock mechanics modeling.

2. Initiate response actions determined necessary to shore up structural integrity of Oxy-Geismar No. 1 if feasible.

3. Operators of nearby hydrocarbon storage caverns are ordered to undertake all necessary steps to secure their caverns and flow lines, implement H2S (hydrogen sulfide) monitoring protocols, and prepare for evacuation of their sites as soon as possible. Continuous high-frequency reporting to DNR-OC of well/cavern pressures to begin for these caverns.

4. All Napoleonville Salt Dome operators are notified of the situation and to implement H2S protocols.

5. All other operators of infrastructure in the area are ordered to take necessary precautions.

Red

Seismic Activity: Several hundred micro-seismic events associated with Oxy 1 Cavern stability detected during any 12-hour time period. Action steps include:

1. Immediately notify Assumption Parish Officials, GOHSEP, and State Police that activity has been detected demonstrating that Oxy 1 Cavern shows signs of ongoing structural instability and that surface impact associated with Oxy 1 Cavern may be imminent. Evacuation will be recommended to local officials.

2. Shut in all natural gas vent wells in the Bayou Corne area due to the potential for H2S release from cap rock in the event of a roof collapse of the Oxy 1 Cavern. Natural gas vent wells will remain shut-in until appropriate H2S safety measures are implemented.

3. Notify all operators in the area that structural instability of the Oxy 1 Cavern is ongoing and to take all appropriate actions to protect safety and the environment.

It has been over two months since LSU Professor Jeffrey Nunn’s public assessment of the Bayou Corne sinkhole disaster worst-case scenario: that Napoleonville Salt Dome could become an underground collapsed Mt. Everest.

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Human Rights news reporter Deborah Dupré is author of the inspiring and shocking book, “Vampire of Macondo, Life, crimes and curses in south Louisiana that Powerful Forces Don’t want you to know.” Its 450 pages are packed with mainstream media’s censored stories (and over 1000 references) about the BP-wrecked Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico that continues catastrophic human and environmental devastation.

Follow Dupré on Twitter @DeborahDupre. For interviews, email [email protected].

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