Louisiana: Assumption Parish Bayou Corne Sinkhole 2012-2015

[Emily]

Re: Latest: Suspicion narrows about the cause of damages in Bayou Corne area

Re: Latest: Suspicion narrows about the cause of damages in Bayou Corne area

The liquefaction is believed to reach 381 feet below the ground now. A gas well is menaced. The article below also has more details about stress and financial costs incurred by residents of the area. About 50% of the community has not evacuated. No help in paying for relocation costs has been offered from potentially involved corporate entities.

http://theadvocate.com/home/3560051-125/sinkhole-water-analyzed

Sinkhole water analyzed

Presence of salt, diesel fuel may be link to salt cavern

by David J. Mitchell

River Parishes bureau

August 07, 2012

 

[Emily]

Re: Latest: Butane storage cavern could be affected by catastropic salt cavern collapse in Bayou Corne area

Re: Latest: Butane storage cavern could be affected by catastropic salt cavern collapse in Bayou Corne area

Sinkhole bubbles have become more prolific since Saturday.

The bigger concern is a cavern about 1,500 feet from the sinkhole that contains butane and could cause an explosion felt up to two miles away.

Residents are gathering today for a meeting with officials.

 

[Emily]

Re: Latest: Bayou Corne area salt cavern troubles hidden since 2011; radioactive waste dumped there in 1995; Louisiana DNR head abruptly resigns

Re: Latest: Bayou Corne area salt cavern troubles hidden since 2011; radioactive waste dumped there in 1995; Louisiana DNR head abruptly resigns

http://theadvocate.com/news/3580029-123/dome-issues-kept-quiet

Ongoing defect preceded sinkhole

By DAVID J. MITCHELL

River Parishes bureau

August 09, 2012
0 Comments

Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and Texas Brine Co. officials knew at least since January 2011 that one of the company?s salt dome caverns may have developed problems now suspected of possibly causing a large sinkhole and unexplained natural gas venting in northern Assumption Parish swamps.
[snip]
Boudreaux, who is the incident commander for the gas bubbles, sinkhole and other issues in Bayou Corne, began fielding calls about 6 a.m. Friday about the diesel smell, determined a half-hour later to be from the sink hole.

He said the Texas Brine letter is news to him.

?They have never told me anything. We have been fighting this since it began, and this is very concerning to me,? Boudreaux said.
[snip]
DNR records show that on Aug. 31, 1995, the agency authorized Texas Brine to dispose of 20 cubic feet of naturally occurring radioactive material by pumping it into the cavern and another Texas Brine salt cavern in Lafourche Parish. (Read letter.)

A Texas Brine letter dated Aug. 25, 1995, requesting the disposal says the radioactive ?scale? had accumulated in soils around the two cavern wells. (Read letter.)

The radioactivity of scale, a common byproduct of oil and gas exploration and production, can vary widely from background levels to much higher, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says...

Jindal's natural resources secretary resigns
Posted: Aug 8, 2012 4:16 PM

 

[Emily]

Re: Latest: Bayou Corne area salt cavern troubles hidden since 2011; radioactive waste dumped there in 1995; Louisiana DNR head abruptly resigns

Re: Latest: Bayou Corne area salt cavern troubles hidden since 2011; radioactive waste dumped there in 1995; Louisiana DNR head abruptly resigns

National/Global media are picking up on this story:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/09/us/louisiana-bayou-sinkhole/index.html

Louisiana probes cause of massive bayou sinkhole
By Melissa Gray, CNN
updated 10:55 PM EDT, Thu August 9, 2012
[snip]
"DNR failed to report to anybody that this cavern could be the source of the bubbles," Landry said.

"I'm very upset about it. A lot of local residents are upset about it," he said. "I feel like I've been betrayed by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources."

One resident told CNN affiliate WAFB, "Somebody at DNR should have woke up and realized, hey, remember this salt dome, this salt cavern that had a problem, maybe we should be looking at that. That's a little bit upsetting."

Said the sheriff, "DNR has lost all credibility with me."...
[snip]
Landry flew over the sinkhole the other day and said diesel and other chemicals are floating on top of the sludge. Some of the tall cypress trees that fell in are now floating on top of the hole because of the buoyancy of the salty water, he said....

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-chevron-natgasbre87716i-20120808,0,2527136.story

Louisiana sinkhole roils local natural gas network

Jeanine Prezioso Reuters

5:03 p.m. CDT, August 8, 2012

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A sinkhole the size of a football field in southern Louisiana has forced energy companies to halt nearby natural gas pipeline activity and draw down fuel from a local storage cavern.

Chevron Corp's subsidiary Bridgeline Holdings declared force majeure on new injections into its salt dome storage facility near the sinkhole and the town of Napoleonville, through the rest of the year, according to notice to customers posted on its website....

More detail from local environmentalists and human rights activists:

http://leanweb.org/our-work/community/public-health/bayou-corne-sinkhole

Bayou Corne Sinkhole
Post: August 09 2012 in: Public Health
Oxy Geismar Well No. 3 (serial number: 180708) is the cause of the sink hole.
The well was first permitted in April 15, 1982 for the mining of salt water brine from the Napoleonville Salt Dome.
In 1995 Texas brine recieved permission from Louisiana Department of Natural Resources to pump soil contaminated with Naturally Occouring Radioactive Material (NORM) into the well.
In early September 2010, Texas Brine began reworking the cavern well, milling a section of salt higher than the existing cavern roof, at 3,400 feet deep, to see if the upper strata could be mined. A DNR permit for that work was issued in May 2010.
In 2011 the well failed a pressure test showing that the integrity of the well had been lost. Texas Brine Company sent a letter to Louisiana Department of Natural Resources reporting the failed test and expressing concern over the possibility that "a breach out of the salt dome appears possible."...

http://www.southernstudies.org/2012/08/mysterious-environmental-disaster-unfolding-in-louisiana-bayou-community.html

Mysterious environmental disaster unfolding in Louisiana bayou community atop gas storage caves
Facing South

By Karen Savage, Bridge the Gulf

Ashley Alleman and her husband knew something was wrong months ago. Amid reports of unexplained bubbling in nearby Bayou Corne, they?d been feeling strange rumblings beneath their home, rumblings they?d never felt before....

 

[Emily]

Re: Latest: Significance of Bayou Corne area salt cavern troubles picked up by global media

Re: Latest: Significance of Bayou Corne area salt cavern troubles picked up by global media

http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/08/10/sinkhole-free-of-radiation-but-residents-still-mad/

Posted on August 10, 2012 at 6:45 am by Associated Press in Natural Gas
[snip]
?It?s what I?ve been saying all along, that they?ve been hiding things,? Rousseau said. ?I think our local officials are trying to do the best they can, but I think they?re being hindered by the higher-ups hiding things.?

Rousseau said he was especially worried after a parish official had him fill out a form asking him to list his next of kin Thursday morning.

?That?s a little disturbing to me. They said it?s in case they can?t reach us to evacuate. But I mean, come on. They can reach everyone,? he said....

 

[mixin]

Re: Latest: Assumption Parish officials asking residents in sinkhole region to fill out next-of-kin forms

Re: Latest: Assumption Parish officials asking residents in sinkhole region to fill out next-of-kin forms

Thanks for keeping on top of this.

The LEAN link you posted, http://leanweb.org/our-work/community/public-health/bayou-corne-sinkhole, has a map showing the contours of the salt dome at 10,000' and 1000' depths, as well as the sink hole, the bubble sites, the problem-causing Oxy Geismar Well No. 3, the brine wells, the gas storage wells and the plugged/abandoned wells.

That's amazing what all is going on underground. I wonder how many people knew that before LEAN?

So, as of last Thurs., Aug 9, the sinkhole had grown another 10-20'. I wonder if that's a lot or just a little in terms of growth rates to worry about.

It was also noted that the diesel fuel present at the site is from the "diesel blanket;" a layer of diesel fuel put into the brine filled cavern to protect the cavern roof and steel well casings.

 

[Emily]

Re: Latest: Assumption Parish officials asking residents in sinkhole region to fill out next-of-kin forms

Re: Latest: Assumption Parish officials asking residents in sinkhole region to fill out next-of-kin forms

That's amazing what all is going on underground. I wonder how many people knew that before LEAN?

That is a good map and I was amazed, too. There is a new article in The Advocate examining the potential for chemical plants in the region to lose power from the gas pipeline disruption that discusses the denseness of underground network there.

http://theadvocate.com/news/3601965-123/plants-adapt-to-pipeline-closures

Plants adapt to pipeline closures
BY TED GRIGGS
Advocate business writer
August 13, 2012
[snip]
Born? declined to name the plants affected.

The southern part of Louisiana is ?a virtual megasite? when it comes to moving things underground, Born? said.

?That?s something that?s very positive for the state. There were ways to work around the issue, thank goodness,? he said...

They have another new article about the relief well Texas Brine has been mandated to drill:

http://theadvocate.com/news/3623924-123/state-approves-permit-to-drill

And another article about Texas Brine pledging to contribute to a relief fund for evacuees. (DNR revealed this was mandated by the original cavern mining permit back in the 1980's.):

http://theadvocate.com/news/3609039-123/fund-created-to-help-assumptions

 

[mixin]

Re: Latest: Assumption Parish officials asking residents in sinkhole region to fill out next-of-kin forms

Re: Latest: Assumption Parish officials asking residents in sinkhole region to fill out next-of-kin forms

From your linked sites:

Texas Brine to look for cause of sinkhole

* have identified the abandoned cavern in the 1-by-3-mile Napoleonville Dome as the most likely cause of the sinkhole

* The cavern starts 3,400' under the earth, is about 310 feet at its widest at the bottom and about 5,650 feet deep. The sinkhole is ~200 feet away.

* The sinkhole surface is 375 feet across, that diameter means the surface area is closer 2.5 acres, larger than earlier reports.

* there are shallow points and deep points; those may be cracks that go deeper than the rest of the sinkhole.

* the deepest point is close to where the bubbling is.

http://theadvocate.com/news/3623924-123/relief-well-permit-granted

**********************

Good pics at this link, along with some interesting comments:

* The wall of salt between the brine cavern and the salt dome might be thinner than experts were led to believe

* this sinkhole was unusual because it sits on the edge of the dome, when sinkholes normally sit right on top.

* scientists have speculated that the 372-foot-wide and 422-foot-deep sinkhole might be related to structural problems within the cavern, he said.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...es-concerns-explosions.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

 

[Emily]

Re: Latest: Bayou Corne sinkhole grows to 476 feet by 640 feet as caravan of massive drilling equipment arrives

Re: Latest: Bayou Corne sinkhole grows to 476 feet by 640 feet as caravan of massive drilling equipment arrives

Photo from Assumption Parish blog
http://assumptionla.wordpress.com/​

http://www.amitetoday.com/view/full...hole-help?instance=secondary_news_left_column

State Police escort emergency drilling equipment in Grad Bayou for sinkhole help
5 hrs ago
Read more: Tangilena.com

http://theadvocate.com/home/3642925-125/drilling-rig-parts-arrive-at

Drilling rig parts arrive at Assumption sinkhole site
By Bret H. McCormick
River Parishes bureau

August 15, 2012

The first trucks carrying parts to assemble a drilling rig in the Bayou Corne area started arriving on Wednesday...

There's a video at the link below:
http://www.nbc33tv.com/news/local-n...-corne-community-say-theyre-ready-for-awnsers

People living in the Bayou Corne community say they're ready for awnsers
Local News
Kris Cusanza Reporter
Wednesday, August 15, 2012 - 7:10pm
[snip]
"Backfire on them you're talking about putting a rig in there," said Bayou Corne resident Ernest Boudreaux Jr. "What's to say that the rig isn't going to go down in it. That hole can come across the highway at any time."

Published on Aug 15, 2012 by assumptionla
"In this video, you see clean up contractors working inside the sinkhole. Please note that the tree falling in the video was cut, as others have been to make way for an access road that is being constructed to haul debris out":

<object height="315" width="420">
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LKIIJnkC2Yo?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="315" width="420"></object>​

 

[mixin]

Re: Latest: Bayou Corne sinkhole grows to 476 feet by 640 feet as caravan of massive drilling equipment arrives

Re: Latest: Bayou Corne sinkhole grows to 476 feet by 640 feet as caravan of massive drilling equipment arrives

Aug 14
Interview with Dr. Horton, seismologist with the University of Memphis who monitors the New Madrid fault line as well as this disaster:

* he thinks it's a "real possibility" that the fossil fuel industries? environmental modifications have caused instabilities that resulted in this disaster

* seismometers picked up thousands of quakes in the Assumption Parish disaster area since June

* "On July 24th, the number of quakes went up hundreds or thousands or so a day until August 2nd when they stopped,? Horton said. ?The next day, August 3rd, the sinkhole occurred ? that morning."

* the quakes ended when the sinkhole developed but seismic signals persist
http://www.examiner.com/article/louisiana-sinkhole-bubbles-1000s-quakes-link-to-oil-gas-enmod

*********************************
Aug 14
State Requests Updated Plan from Crosstex about Butane Storage Cavern
* Crosstex operates storage cavern that contains 940,000 barrels of butane, which is located 1,600 feet from the sinkhole.

* the Department of Environmental Quality formally requested an updated risk management plan and worst case scenario from Crosstex.

* the updated worst case analysis should be based on the current contents of Cavern #2 at the company?s Napoleonville site, with an
analysis consistent with the release of the largest amount of butane in the vessel.

http://www.kfolkjun.com/htv/NewsBlo...rom-Crosstex-about-Butane-Storage-Cavern.aspx

***********************
Sinkhole: H-Bomb explosion equivalent in Bayou Corne possible

* If ignited, the butane well would release as much explosive energy as 100 Hiroshima bombs, Deborah Dupr?'s scientist sources told her Sunday.

There's a nuke map in this article detailing how areas would be affected, with a following explanation of the differences between a butane explosion and an H-bomb.

http://www.examiner.com/article/sinkhole-h-bomb-explosion-equivalent-bayou-corne-possible

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Latest: Bayou Corne sinkhole grows to 476 feet by 640 feet as caravan of massive drilling equipment arrives

Re: Latest: Bayou Corne sinkhole grows to 476 feet by 640 feet as caravan of massive drilling equipment arrives

Louisiana Boat Disappears Into Sinkhole, Workers Rescued

By CHRISTINA NG (@ChristinaNg27)
Aug. 16, 2012

A 400-foot deep sinkhole in Louisiana is expanding and today swallowed the boat of two cleanup workers who had to be rescued from the hole.
Officials are still fearful of the possibility of explosions from nearby gas-filled caverns.

"It has expanded 50 feet and during that expansion there were workers that were working on the cleanup of the diesel," Kim Torres, spokeswoman for the Office of Emergency Preparedness, told ABCNews.com today.

The two workers were in a boat tied to a tree when the area where the tree grew fell into the sinkhole.

The workers were rescued by airboat. They were uninjured but their boat disappeared into the sinkhole. The cleanup process has been halted.

The gaping hole measures about 526 feet from northeast to southwest and 640 feet from northwest to southeast. It is in Assumption Parish, La., about 50 miles south of Baton Rouge.

More...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/louisiana-sinkhole-engulfs-boat-workers-rescued/story?id=17021557

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Latest: Bayou Corne sinkhole grows to 476 feet by 640 feet as caravan of massive drilling equipment arrives

Re: Latest: Bayou Corne sinkhole grows to 476 feet by 640 feet as caravan of massive drilling equipment arrives

DEQ seeks salt cavern butane scenario

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL
River Parishes bureau
August 16, 2012

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has asked the operator of a salt cavern near a sinkhole in northern Assumption Parish to describe what would happen if all butane that could be held in the underground storage facility were released to the surface, state officials said Tuesday.
...
The Crosstex salt cavern, which holds 940,000 barrels of liquid butane under pressure, is 1,600 feet from the sinkhole on the adjacent Texas Brine Co. LLC property south of La. 70 south.
....
Madhurendu B. Kumar, director of the DNR Office of Conservation, Geological Oil and Gas Division, presented the worst-case scenario zone for the sinkhole to parish residents in an Aug. 7 meeting in Pierre Part.

Calculating based on the assumption that the 20-million-barrel Texas Brine cavern is the cause of the sinkhole, Kumar said in an interview after the meeting, the worst-case scenario would give the sinkhole a radius of 700 feet.

That is less than the sinkhole?s distance to the Crosstex cavern, parish officials confirmed.

When asked Tuesday, Chris Piehler, DEQ Enforcement Division administrator, said reports that release of the butane from the Crosstex cavern could be equivalent to an H-bomb explosion are ?a little bit over the top.?
...
John Boudreaux, director of the Assumption Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said officials are not concerned that the sinkhole would expand and swallow up the Crosstex cavern, but that the sinkhole could expand and shift the cap of sediment and rock that sits atop Napoleonville Dome.

Such a shift, though it would have to occur across 1,600 feet of caprock, could damage the casing of the well bore leading to the underground cavern, possibly releasing the butane, Boudreaux explained.

?It?s not impossible. No one can say that it can?t happen. The scientists are aware of that, but it?s very unlikely that it would happen,? Boudreaux said.
...
Full text:
http://theadvocate.com/home/3633853-125/deq-wants-sinkhole-scenario

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Latest: Bayou Corne sinkhole grows to 476 feet by 640 feet as caravan of massive drilling equipment arrives

Re: Latest: Bayou Corne sinkhole grows to 476 feet by 640 feet as caravan of massive drilling equipment arrives

DEQ Louisiana
For Immediate Release Contact: Rodney Mallett
Aug. 16, 2012 Telephone: 225-219-3964

Crosstex Butane Cavern Shows Little-to-no Threat to Slurry Hole Area

BATON ROUGE - The departments of Environmental Quality and Natural Resources have reviewed Crosstex Entergy Services? updated risk management plan for its storage cavern in Assumption Parish.Both agencies agree with Crosstex?s calculations that the cavern poses little-to-no threat to the population near where a slurry hole appeared in early August.

On Wednesday, at DEQ?s request, Crosstex Energy Services re-evaluated their worst case scenario analysis. Their initial analysis was based on the concept of a failure of the pipeline at the surface. Based on that analysis, the impact radius calculated was broken windows at 0.3 miles. It was noted that the quantity of butane was doubled for this calculation in order to be more protective of human health. At the state?s request, Crosstex modified their worst-case scenario to consider that their butane-filled cavern was akin to an underground storage tank and calculations should be based on any failure of that system.

An important factor to understand is that the butane in this cavern is stored more than a half-mile below ground surface. At this depth and pressure, the butane is a liquid. The only way to get it to the surface is to pump salt water, which is heavier than butane, into the cavern in order to displace the butane to the surface. A failure of the cavern or piping would not cause this material to free-flow upward to the surface.

Concerns have been expressed regarding the possibility of the sink hole somehow expanding into the cavern holding the butane. It should be noted that the cavern containing the butane liquid is more than a half-mile underground and deep in the stable salt dome. The sink hole, at the deepest depth known to this point, is 300 feet.

While it is easy to simply convert the known quantity of butane into a blast scenario, that does not mean this scenario is possible. A blast scenario of the liquid butane stored at the pressure and depth at which it is stored in the absence of oxygen is not possible. If the piping failed, some vapors could come to the top of the well head. If there was an ignition source, there could be slow burn at the wellhead. Lacking pressure or some other driving force to push it rapidly to the surface, it would not be expected to create a violent reaction such as an explosion. If the salt dome were to fracture and cause the casing for the storage of the liquid butane to crack, the liquid butane would flow into the cracks of the salt dome and not come to the surface. To see Crosstex?s letter explaining the calculations and the worst case scenario, go to www.deq.louisiana.gov.

http://www.deq.louisiana.gov/portal/portals/0/news/pdf/crosstex.pdf

Crosstex?s letter explaining the calculations and the worst case scenario:
http://www.deq.louisiana.gov/portal/portals/0/news/pdf/Crosstex_ltr.pdf

 

[Emily]

Re: Latest: Workers rescued as boat pulled down into Bayou Corne sinkhole

Re: Latest: Workers rescued as boat pulled down into Bayou Corne sinkhole

It sounds like they made the best choice to suspend cleanup operations after that close call today. It's too bad the chemicals can't be removed, but that will have to wait until the geology is stable.

Thanks for finding the worst case scenario letter, Pathfinder. That clears up some questions I had. The Leanweb map showed 3 gas storage caverns in the sinkhole area, (though it appears that the sinkhole is either outside or on the edge of the salt dome itself), and I could only account for 2 caverns from the news reports and documents I could find.

One is the NS1 cavern Chevron owns and is in the process of emptying. The other was one reported owned by Crosstex with the 940,000 barrels of butane.

I found this report about Crosstex online and it says they own two separate caverns there, but the total capacity is much larger than 940,000 barrels.

http://yahoo.brand.edgar-online.com/EFX_dll/EDGARpro.dll?FetchFilingHtmlSection1?SectionID=8443288-8449-80095&SessionID=Xig5F6ACwIm34l7

Napoleonville Storage Facility. The Napoleonville NGL storage facility, located outside of Belle Rose, Louisiana, is connected to the Riverside facility and has a total capacity in excess of 3.1 million barrels of underground storage from two existing caverns. The caverns are currently operated in propane and butane service, and space is leased to customers for a fee.

In the letter you found, they explain that one cavern is not holding gas right now, and the other is not full to capacity.

Texas Brine is going to help out evacuees, even if it hasn't been proven yet that their cavern created the sinkhole, gas bubbling and seismic activity. At least that might reduce stress and enable more people to leave the area until it's stable.

http://theadvocate.com/home/3651200-125/workers-rescued-in-sinkhole-incident

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Latest: Workers rescued as boat pulled down into Bayou Corne sinkhole

Re: Latest: Workers rescued as boat pulled down into Bayou Corne sinkhole

Drilling to determine cause of sinkhole begins in Bayou Corne

Posted: Aug 18, 2012 8:07 PM CDT Updated: Aug 18, 2012 8:27 PM CDT
By Kelsey Davis -

ASSUMPTION PARISH, LA (WAFB) -

After this week's massive operation to get the equipment from Lafayette down to Assumption Parish, the drilling is now underway for an observation well for the sinkhole in Bayou Corne.

...Experts will drill into Texas Brine's abandoned salt cavern to see if it failed and created this massive sinkhole a few weeks ago. Parish officials say this could be a long process.
...
"They estimate it's going to take 40 days just to enter the cavern. And then entering the cavern is just the beginning because then all the testing and science comes in after the cavern's entered," said Boudreaux...

Full text:
http://www.ksla.com/story/19312520/drilling-begins-in-bayou-corne-to-determine-cause-of-sinkhole

 

[mixin]

Re: Louisiana: Assumption Parish Bayou Corne Sinkhole 2012

Re: Louisiana: Assumption Parish Bayou Corne Sinkhole 2012

A number of years ago, Germany did a report:

Geotechnical Exploration of the Gorleben Salt Dome

It's a big .pdf and it has many pictures, charts and detailed explanations of how they test, what equipment they test with, etc. I would guess that some of these techniques will be used for testing this salt dome, too.

http://www.bgr.bund.de/EN/Themen/En...exploration_en.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2

 

[Emily]

Re: Louisiana: Assumption Parish Bayou Corne Sinkhole 2012 (Update: Crosstex to move butane)

Re: Louisiana: Assumption Parish Bayou Corne Sinkhole 2012 (Update: Crosstex to move butane)

The Advocate reports that Crosstex has decided to move butane to its empty cavern that is 1,000 ft. further from the sinkhole than its current location:

http://theadvocate.com/home/3671799-125/crosstex-plans-to-transfer-butane

The Assumption Parish Police Jury blog put up a photo of Texas Brine's new drilling rig towering over the landscape yesterday:

http://assumptionla.wordpress.com/2012/08/19/855-a-m-rig-site-pic-taken-081812/

Here's the latest flyovers:

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[mixin]

Re: Louisiana: Assumption Parish Bayou Corne Sinkhole 2012 (Update: Crosstex to move butane)

Re: Louisiana: Assumption Parish Bayou Corne Sinkhole 2012 (Update: Crosstex to move butane)

Thanks to Nola.com for this graphic of the Napoleon Salt Dome.

http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/08/sinkhole_neighbors_dont_know_w.html




I'm having a hard time trying to understand the threat to humans with this. These pics are copied from my Lake Peigneur thread.

If the Napoleon Salt Dome is mined in the same manner as the one under Lake Peigneur, then I can understand the concern. That one was flooded and everything was lost.
Credit for pics http://www.thelivingmoon.com/45jack_...Louisiana.html




But, if Napoleon has been mined like the one in this Google image, then I'm not understanding where the potential danger to residents comes from (other than the surface pollution). Do they think the actual dome is cracked?




By looking at the NOLA pic, I'd like to know exactly what happens with "loss of integrity in the well bore."

Mark Cartwright, representing Texas Brine, admitted the company had to abandon operations at the mine last year as the result of "loss of integrity in the well bore." Testing indicated they were drilling in an area that was much closer to the edge of the salt area than initially thought. Drilling too close to the edge could puncture a protective outer layer of solid rock salt, and threaten the integrity of the caverns, causing a possible collapse.

In response to a question regarding the thickness of the remaining protective outer salt layer, Cartwright was unable to say how close to the edge they were drilling. He could only say that initial studies indicated they were "hundreds of feet" away from the edge when they began drilling, but that measurement was taken years ago using older technology.

One more pic showing how brine mining is done

 

[mixin]

Re: Louisiana: Assumption Parish Bayou Corne Sinkhole 2012 (Update: Crosstex to move butane)

Re: Louisiana: Assumption Parish Bayou Corne Sinkhole 2012 (Update: Crosstex to move butane)

OK.. to answer my own question: Yes, Texas Brine does think it's possible that the salt dome has been compromised due to the fact that it failed its pressure test. All of this information makes more sense with a graphic of the dome.

From the letter at this link
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/20...la-sinkole-expands-swallows-boat-tree-170011/

At this time, a breach out of the salt dome appears possible.

... ...and to seek DNR guidance in developing a plan for continuous guidance.

In early September 2010, Texas Brine began reworking the cavern well, milling a section of salt higher than the existing cavern roof, at 3,400 feet deep, to see if the upper strata could be mined. A DNR permit for that work was issued in May 2010.

Ball explained Wednesday that officials believe that area, which extended for about 100 feet through the well casing above the cavern roof, may be the source of the possible salt dome wall breach.

http://theadvocate.com/home/3580029-125/dome-issues-kept-quiet

If the salt dome itself is cracked, that would be a worse-case scenario?

 

[Emily]

Re: Louisiana: Assumption Parish Bayou Corne Sinkhole 2012 (Update: Crosstex to move butane)

Re: Louisiana: Assumption Parish Bayou Corne Sinkhole 2012 (Update: Crosstex to move butane)

Maybe they'll be looking for groundwater intrusion. Whether that is happening or not might be a factor in risk assessment.

As far as the issue of well bore integrity, I think the concern mentioned there is butane leakage to the surface.
ETA: I thought the well bore concern was about the Crosstex cavern. That's why my comment below was about butane. I'd be interested in learning more about the relationship between a possible dome breach and well bore failure in the case of the Texas Brine cavern.

A Koch pipeline leaked liquified butane in Lively, Texas in 1999 and formed a gas cloud and ignited when a truck drove through it, killing two people.

http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/reports/1998/PAR9802.pdf

PB98-916503
NTSB/PAR-98/02/SUM
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20594
PIPELINE ACCIDENT SUMMARY REPORT
PIPELINE RUPTURE, LIQUID BUTANE RELEASE,
AND FIRE
LIVELY, TEXAS AUGUST 24, 1996

The other unknown is the methane gas mix still bubbling up in Bayou Corne. Nobody knows where this is coming from.

Then there are the known dangers you mentioned, mixin, as far as surface contamination. Louisiana Weekly has an comprehensive article below that quotes the Assumption Parish sheriff saying that they are still smelling diesel-like odors at times.

http://www.louisianaweekly.com/sinkhole-spurs-evacuations-lawsuits-and-an-official-resignation/

So I'm glad that there is finally some financial aid for evacuation

Edited to add from above link (s.)

“The sinkhole is about 1,600 feet from a cavern containing over 900,000 barrels of liquid butane,” said Assumption Parish Sheriff Mike Waguespack

and

Sonny Cranch, spokesman for Texas Brine, said “the site is not radioactive. That’s been confirmed by Louisiana Dept. of Environmental Quality tests and by the state Dept. of Natural Resources.

and

Attorney Daniel Becnel Jr. in Reserve, who filed a class action suit on behalf of neighbors, said “the reason residents worry about radioactivity is because companies store radioactive material at the bottom of these caverns. All the companies around here inject pollution into deep-water wells, hoping it will never surface. Gas, however, has started bubbling up from this sinkhole.”