Tagged: assumption parish

Officials say they are one step closer to figuring out the cause behind the massive sinkhole that has been plaguing Assumption Parish for over a month.

State Commissioner of Conservation James Welsh said Wednesday that Texas Brine Co., the company that owns the brine cavern believed to be at fault, will be breaching the cavern Thursday afternoon.

Residents will hold an emergency town-hall meeting to encourage state and local officials to provide more information about the sinkhole in Assumption Parish.

John Achee Jr., a community activist, said the meeting will be held Thursday at the St. Joseph the Worker Church parish hall in Pierre Part.

Achee said residents called the meeting because of a lack of information from emergency officials and Texas Brine Co., which owns the property where the sinkhole was found.

Officials say drilling on two wells is expected to begin over the next week near the Assumption Parish community of Bayou Corne to learn more about the sinkhole that emerged there last month.

The Courier reports that officials believe a planned vent well will determine whether natural gas exists in a water aquifer used to create oil mud known as brine.

Despite the tropical storm force winds and rains heavy enough to force a mandatory evacuation of all residents in Assumption Parish, officials say Hurricane Isaac had no impact on a sinkhole near Bayou Corne.

But after the storm trudged past the parish, three new bubbling gas sites were discovered Tuesday in Bayou Corne, Grand Bayou and Triche Canal. Representatives from the state Department of Environmental Quality are currently testing the air and water at the three new sites and they say preliminary tests indicate no abnormal readings.

Crosstex Energy LP of Dallas will reroute its 36-inch natural gas pipeline away from a sinkhole in south Louisiana.

The company tells The Advocate that the project will cost $20 million to $25 million and take about a year.

It has had to close part of the pipeline and find other natural gas supplies for its customers since the sinkhole was discovered Aug. 3 in Assumption Parish near Bayou Corne. The company says that's costing around $250,000 to $300,000 a month.