Tagged: sinkhole

The company believed responsible for the massive sinkhole near Bayou Corne may have to pay a fine of up to $5,000 a day if it doesn't retroactively compensate evacuated residents.

Louisiana Commissioner of Conservation James Welsh said Thursday Texas Brine Co. is required by the permit issued for a brine cavern they own in the Napoleonville salt dome to provide assistance to residents if a sinkhole develops.

The Houston-based company began providing a weekly housing check of $875 to evacuated locals last week.

Locals are reporting more gas bubbles in Grand Bayou.

Officials at the Assumption Parish Police Jury said Tuesday a small bubble site was discovered near a massive sinkhole in Assumption Parish. Residents have been reporting other gas bubbles and tremors in the area for months.

The sinkhole swallowed up an acre of bald cypress trees Aug 3. It has since grown to the size of a football field.

US court hears arguments over chief justice choice
JANET McCONNAUGHEY,Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An overflow crowd heard attorneys for the only African-American on the Louisiana Supreme Court argue she should be its next chief justice.

James Williams told U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan that Bernette Johnson has served longer than any other justice, and that's what the state constitution requires to be chief justice.

State agencies say they've asked the company owning a natural gas pipeline that was bent by an expanding sinkhole in Assumption Parish for an updated risk management plan on a nearby butane storage cavern.

Crosstex Energy LP of Dallas owns a storage cavern 1,600 feet from the site of a sinkhole near Bayou Corne. The cavern houses 940,000 barrels of butane.

The state Department of Natural Resources says is has approved a drilling permit for a relief well near a massive sinkhole in Assumption Parish.

DNR Secretary Stephen Chustz says Houston-based Texas Brine Co. will drill into a brine cavern the company owns in the Napoleonville salt dome.

Scientists believe the cavern may be the cause of the sinkhole, which opened 10 days ago. Officials say they hope the relief well will reveal possible structural damage to the cavern.