Tremors felt 45 miles away from Bayou Corne Sinkhole!

Originally posted by CajunBoy
reply to post by happykat39

 

Errr idk exactly where this person is from, but we had a weeks worth of overcast in the last month. I don't know what kind of sunlight they are grabbing, but it has been mostly sunny down here.

The sinkhole is such a big deal to the alternate news outlets, but unfortunately not to the MSM, that it is difficult to be sure of any source. That is why having you as our "boots on the ground" is so important to this thread.

Sounds like people are starting to split. Some out, some let's fix.

“I’m OK (with the truck) and I’m OK with them doing whatever they need to do to get the situation fixed,” Donachricha said. Show caption The situation, as she called it, has been going on so long it’s dividing the community. “People are tired of this,” she said. “People are irritable and saying things to each other they regret. There are some people that want a buyout, and because they want that buyout, they’re not willing to do anything to help the situation and to improve it. “Then, there’s people that don’t want a buyout that are saying ‘Do whatever you gotta do if that’s what its going to take to get it fixed,’ ” Donachricha said.

Truck demos vibes near sinkhole
The lady they quote is said to have videos posted. I will look for them later.

There is a new posting at Celestial Convergence with links back to The Advocate and WAFB 9. There is little new but some of what we already know is presented in new light and elaborated on.

From Celestial Convergence...

Giant Louisiana Sinkhole - Gas Removal At Sinkhole Reaches 940,000 Barrels; Sinkhole Grows To 8.6 Acres In Size; Scientists Are Worried That Long-Term Integrity Of Caverns Could Be Catastrophic; As Texas Brine Shows Off Sinkhole Mapping Device!

Gas Removal At Sinkhole Reaches 940,000 Barrels. But he said Chevron Pipe Line Co. is continuing to remove natural gas from its nearby Bridgeline NS1 cavern, which is about 1,900 feet east of the sinkhole. Gareth Johnstone, a Chevron spokesman, declined Friday to provide a timeline for complete removal, which began shortly after the sinkhole was found and involves a careful balancing of cavern pressures. Crosstex officials did not return messages for comment. Crosstex had originally planned last fall to move the butane from a cavern closest to the sinkhole to an empty one 1,000 feet farther away in the dome. Boudreaux said the company ended up removing the butane altogether.

From The Advocate...

Scientists believe the failure of a Texas Brine Co. LLC salt cavern deep underground in the dome unleashed crude oil and gas in natural formations along the dome’s salt face.

Texas Brine and parish officials also announced progress on other fronts as well:

Nine vent wells flared off methane gas trapped under the Bayou Corne area Friday and more such wells could be burning more gas soon.

Texas Brine and contractor Boone Exploration Inc. plan a meeting and demonstration from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Sportsman’s Landing, 1491 La. 70 South in Bayou Corne on a 3-D seismic survey planned for the area.

Texas Brine is finished installing a permanent seismic array, under orders from the Office of Conservation, to monitor tremors in the area and to replace the array that had been in place through the U.S. Geological Survey.

The access well Texas Brine drilled last year to reach its failed Oxy Geismar No. 3 cavern is blocked with salt, and a portion of it must be redrilled to remove the blockage.

From WAFB 9...

Texas Brine shows off sinkhole mapping device

BAYOU CORNE, LA (WAFB) -

Texas Brine unveiled a new device Saturday they say will help paint a clearer picture of what's underneath the Assumption Parish sinkhole.

In a meeting with Bayou Core residents, Texas Brine spokesman Sonny Cranch demonstrated how the 3D seismic activity tests will work. Small devices will be installed in the ground around the community, then a vibro-seismic truck will send sound waves deep underground. The devices will record the activity below and create a 3D picture based on the results.

"We wanted to demonstrate it to the Bayou Corne Residents, so that they will have a better understanding of how benign the process will be in their neighborhood. We are not using any explosive charges, but in fact, using this truck which is very effective on hard surfaces," Cranch said.

New sinkhole flyovers. There are 4 of them from the 20th. I look forward to Spring so we can see how many trees this sinkhole has killed. Also, it looks like they are building a road around the lower bottom of the sinkhole.

Assumption Parish Police Jury

Here is another interesting read: INCIDENT ACTION PLAN

1.

PPE Required on site: Respirator w/ VOC Cartridge, Gloves for sampling, eye protection, life preservers, hearing protection.

2.

The nearest hospital,Our Lady of the Lake is located in Napoleonville, LA. which is a 15 minute trip.

(Always good to know)

3.

Spotters and WarningsA person or persons armed with an air horn will be placed on site looking for safety issues such as: Leaning trees Falling trees Ground Movement Driver of the truck attached to the roll off box will remain in the truck at all times and will be ready to vacate the accsess road on signal.

Doesn't sound stable to me.

Originally posted by AuntB
New sinkhole flyovers. There are 4 of them from the 20th. I look forward to Spring so we can see how many trees this sinkhole has killed. Also, it looks like they are building a road around the lower bottom of the sinkhole.

Assumption Parish Police Jury

I followed you link and after viewing the flyover videos I came across this one.

Originally posted by AuntB
Here is another interesting read: INCIDENT ACTION PLAN

1.

PPE Required on site: Respirator w/ VOC Cartridge, Gloves for sampling, eye protection, life preservers, hearing protection.

2.

The nearest hospital,Our Lady of the Lake is located in Napoleonville, LA. which is a 15 minute trip.

(Always good to know)

3.

Spotters and WarningsA person or persons armed with an air horn will be placed on site looking for safety issues such as: Leaning trees Falling trees Ground Movement Driver of the truck attached to the roll off box will remain in the truck at all times and will be ready to vacate the accsess road on signal.

Doesn't sound stable to me.

edit on 22-2-2013 by AuntB because: fix text

No, it doesn't sound very stable. But what is the worst case scenario? I followed the link in this reply also, and as in the previous posting, I found another interesting video. I present it here without comment as to its accuracy in relation to the sinkhole connection. But it is still scary enough even if the sinkhole connection made in it is bollocks.

There is a new posting at Celestial Convergence tracking back to five other sources. The Lake Peigneur sinkhole disaster is also being brought into the mix. It seems that some people are actually getting a wake up call from events at the Assumption Parish/Bayou Corne sinkhole and having second thoughts about storing gas in the salt dome caverns.

SOURCE #1 - Celestial Convergence

Expert Declares That There Is Now Substantially More Than 50,000,000 Cubic Feet Of Gas Below The Giant Louisiana Sinkhole - Covering Two Square Miles, Enough To Do "Very Serious Damage"! UPDATE: Mysterious Bubbling Reported By Salt Dome, 50 Miles From The Sinkhole - Sheriff Asking Motorists To Stay Away!

February 22, 2013 - LOUISIANA, UNITED STATES - Opponents of expanding the underground natural gas storage facility under Lake Peigneur asked state regulators on Wednesday to carefully review what they argue has the potential to become another disaster on the scale of the growing sinkhole in Assumption Parish. Comments at a public hearing on the project also harkened back to 1980, when a drilling rig pushed through the top of salt mine under Lake Peigneur and opened a hole that consumed the entire water body. “This lake, this region, these resources have sacrificed enough,” state Sen. Fred Mills, R-Parks, told state Department of Natural Resources officials at the hearing. “... Protect the lake. It has suffered enough.”

SOURCE #2 - The Advocate

Some Acadiana residents fear potential for sinkhole ‘disaster’

NEW IBERIA — Opponents of expanding the underground natural gas storage facility under Lake Peigneur asked state regulators on Wednesday to carefully review what they argue has the potential to become another disaster on the scale of the growing sinkhole in Assumption Parish.

Atlanta-based AGL Resources is proposing to scour out two new salt caverns for natural gas storage at its Jefferson Island Storage & Hub Facility, expanding on the existing two storage caverns there.

AGL has pointed to a record of no problems since the facility opened in the 1990s and maintains that the proposed expansion has been carefully studied to minimize environment impacts and ensure safe operations.

The proposed expansion has met strong opposition and is now beginning its second permitting attempt. The project was halted in 2006 when then-Gov. Kathleen Blanco called for an extensive environmental study of the project.

SOURCE #3 - WAFB9

Bubbling sites on Lake Peigneur have residents worried

LAKE PEIGNEUR, LA (WAFB) -

Residents who live in Lake Peigneur in Iberia Parish are worried active bubbling on the lake near their homes could be putting their lives in danger.

"They haven't told us anything, I don't know. But I wish somebody would give us some answers because it's a scary thought every night thinking what's going to happen," said Lake Peigneur resident Crystal Bell.

Homeowners are concerned the salt dome storage cavern collapse in Assumption Parish could happen to them.

The Department of Environmental Quality sent workers to the area to take samples of the mysterious bubbles on the lake surface.

SOURCE #4 - KATC3

Lake Peigneur hearing tonight

Residents opposing AGL Resources from expanding natural gas storage at Lake Peigneur will attend a Department of Natural Resources hearing tonight. They have fought the expansion for years saying they fear building underground caverns to store natural gas would contaminate the Chicot Aquifer.

Residents calim the lake has bubbled in the past and captured pictures of it bubbling again Wednesday afternoon.

SO URCE #5 - The Daily Iberian

JISH expansion opponents want bubbling source discovered first

A representative from the Jefferson Island Storage and Hub’s parent company AGL Resources gave a presentation Wednesday night at the onset of a public hearing in New Iberia Wednesday, but according to residents at the hearing, there was an important component missing.

What is causing the bubbling on Lake Peigneur?

“I don’t see how this agency can say this project has minimized or avoided all negative impacts without having an answer,” Lisa Jordan, supervising attorney for the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, said.

It looks like this sinkhole and bubbling gas problem is not only getting worse but is spreading to other areas. Or at least the other areas are coming to light because of the Assumption Parish/Bayou Corne problems. It seems that there are some bubbling areas at Lake Peigneur that are worse than those at Bayou Corne.

SOURCE#1 - Celestial Convergence

Agents Inspect Mystery Bubbling By Another Louisiana Salt Dome - Thousands Of Feet Of Bubbles, "We Found Foaming Residue,... Something's Happening"?!

February 22, 2013 - UNITED STATES - The state is taking a closer look at what residents say are bubbles in Lake Peigneur in Iberia Parish.

The departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality took samples from Lake Peignuer today to find out what is causing the bubbles.

Last night, public officials, residents and other groups spoke out against AGL Resources, which wants to expand natural gas storage below salt caverns under the lake. Residents fear it could be another disaster waiting to happen--like the current sinkhole in Assumption Parish.

Fast forward to today--this is AGL's second attempt to get its permit. Several concerned residents want AGL's permit denied.

"We have unknown bubbling, it's definite. There's no two ways about it," Nara Crowley, President of Save Lake Peignuer, Inc. said.

Crowley is worried that the bubbles indicate big problems, and she's against AGL's proposed expansion of an underground natural gas storage facility.

SOURCE#2 - KATC3

State Officials Investigate Bubbling Lake Peigneur

"They should deny this permit. We should have the environmental impact statement we've always asked for because that's all we've ever asked for, and stop this project," Crowley said.

"If we get a big sink hole what's going to happen? We don't know. The previous accident in 1980 took in 150 acres of land, What's this one going to do," concerned resident David Lecompte said.

SOURCE#3 - The Advocate

DNR agents see foam, not bubbles, at Lake Peigneur

The state Department of Natural Resources sent field agents to Lake Peigneur in Iberia Parish on Thursday to investigate reports of bubbling at the lake, where natural gas is stored in massive underground caverns scoured out of a large salt dome.

Residents in the area have reported sporadic bubbling in the past and have raised concerns that similar bubbling was observed in the Bayou Corne area in northern Assumption Parish before a large sinkhole developed there last year.

The Bayou Corne sinkhole is believed to be related to the collapse of a large underground storage cavern in a salt dome.

DNR spokesman Patrick Courreges said field agents did not directly observe bubbling at Lake Peigneur on Thursday but did see foam on the lake’s surface.

reply to post by happykat39


I think decades of drilling, extracting and piping in these areas has finally caught up to the oil and gas industry. It seems that the drilling is causing these small quakes. Look at the case of the Bayou Corne sinkhole. Last year Texas Brine suddenly closes and seals off the salt dome. There were hundreds of tremors a day leading up to just two days before the sinkhole, then it stopped for a day, and then August 3 a one-acre sinkhole was found. The tremors damaged the salt cavern, but with all this bubbling that’s happening everywhere, these small quakes are probably disturbing the methane and hydrogen sulfide in the sediment.

In regards to Lake Peigneur, it could be disturbed sediment but most likely this is another damaged salt cavern because it’s the only lake above one of these salt domes and it’s already had a catastrophic event back in 1980. A Texaco and Wilson Brothers salt dome became a major event when the lake became an uncontrollable sinkhole, draining the entire lake and surrounding buildings and homes into a salt mine shaft being built.

From Wikipedia:

The resultant whirlpool sucked in the drilling platform, eleven barges, many trees and 65 acres (260,000 m2) of the surrounding terrain. So much water drained into those caverns that the flow of the Delcambre Canal that usually empties the lake into Vermilion Bay was reversed, making the canal a temporary inlet. This backflow created, for a few days, the tallest waterfall ever in the state of Louisiana, at 164 feet (50 m), as the lake refilled with salt water from the Delcambre Canal and Vermilion Bay. The water downflowing into the mine caverns displaced air which erupted as compressed air and then later as 400-foot (120 m) geysers up through the mine-shafts."

The oil and gas industry is vital to our economy and despite these dangerous conditions that are resulting from it, there’s not much can be done to stop it now. It would take a massive reaction causing the New Madrid fault line to blow for TPTB to finally wake up and realize the dangers here. Oil and gas creates immense wealth by way of jobs, affordable heating bills and a whole lot of cash flowing into the right hands to make sure it’s protected. Isn’t that obvious with how little media coverage there is with the sinkhole and the bubbling in other areas.

IMO it’s the drilling that’s causing these problems. Right after the Bayou Corne sinkhole Texas Brine was ordered to do exploratory drilling to find out what caused the sinkhole and then quit right away because there was geological events occurring. Now Texas Brine is having a geophysicist install 2,500 devices to gather seismic images. These devices will vibrate and have firecracker-type explosions. Very small and minor influences but yet, can this area handle anymore influences at all.

This is a sad situation for the area and its residents. Methane and hydrogen sulfide have been bubbling and releasing into the air for months and its spreading. It was even bubbling in people’s yards recently. A bus route was changed in one neighborhood after gas was discovered underground. People have become sick in the area from the chemical hazards. This is a serious human health risk.

Even though there has been some bubbling in Lake Peigneur over the years, it’s been reported now to be increasing. One bubbling spot was over 1,000 feet long on the lake. That area will face the same health hazards as in Assumption Parish and it’s incredible that Lake Peigneur residents are involved in a fight right now to stop two additional drilling projects from getting started.

These small manmade quakes may be disturbing gases in the area in two ways, the damage to salt caverns that are storing the gas or causing release of methane and hydrogen sulfide from the sediment. It seems this whole area is very volatile not to mention all the gases releasing into the air helping to further advance atmospheric heating. If they continue to drill and frack in this region, who knows what Mother Nature will have to say about it.

Let's hope that Mother Nature doesn't unleash the New Madrid, Many of us have already said, if the New Madrid unzips, well, You won't have to drive very far to see the ocean Rez. I will have ocean front property. It was devestating enough back in the 1800's, If some of the nasties they have in the domes decide to go KA-BLU-WIE!!!! It would definatly change life on this little blue marble forever.

reply to post by Rezlooper


I sent a U2U to Rezlooper inviting him to make some comments on this thread because some of the problems with both areas, Bayou Corne and Lake Peigneur, have a lot in common with some theories of his. Thank you very much for your input Rezlooper, your reply was well thought out and very relevant to the problems both current and possibly in the future.

The New Madrid fault zone becomes more relevant every time something happens to increase the problems in the salt domes.

If you follow the link in Rezlooper's signature line you will see why I feel that the methane releases are rapidly becoming much more than a local problem. If what he states in his theory is even partially right this whole mess is becoming a worldwide problem.

And again, I want to thank you for your speedy and well thought out response to my U2U message.

reply to post by Rezlooper

who knows what Mother Nature will have to say about it.

with hurricane season just around the corner, that's a scary thought indeed.

at this point, if i were within a 50mile radius of the sinkhole, i would be making alternate plans without delay.

any chance someone can link a mapping of the Dow storage caverns in the area ?

It makes me wonder if anyone in charge ever reads. Who was receiving and supposedly reading these reports?

Two reports by Sandia, in 1991 and 1995, and two Texas Brine seismic surveys summarized in a 2010 report suggested that the dome had “overhangs,” which would give it more of a mushroom shape than once thought.

Look at those dates 1991, 1995 and 2010.This sinkhole should not be a surprise at all.

Overhangs can lead operators to believe a salt formation is thicker than it actually is where a cavern is to be created. The danger is that caverns will be created too close to the boundary of the salt dome. While the 1991 Sandia report briefly mentioned a possible overhang on the southwest side of the dome, the 1995 Sandia report raised the prospect of an overhang on the northwest side. Several Texas Brine caverns are near that northwest corner, including the one that failed in August.

So in 1995 there was a concern for the formation and they just went forward.

Shape of salt dome factor in sinkhole Scientists say cavern created too close to edge of Napoleonville Dome

Originally posted by AuntB
It makes me wonder if anyone in charge ever reads. Who was receiving and supposedly reading these reports?

Two reports by Sandia, in 1991 and 1995, and two Texas Brine seismic surveys summarized in a 2010 report suggested that the dome had “overhangs,” which would give it more of a mushroom shape than once thought.

Look at those dates 1991, 1995 and 2010.This sinkhole should not be a surprise at all.

Overhangs can lead operators to believe a salt formation is thicker than it actually is where a cavern is to be created. The danger is that caverns will be created too close to the boundary of the salt dome. While the 1991 Sandia report briefly mentioned a possible overhang on the southwest side of the dome, the 1995 Sandia report raised the prospect of an overhang on the northwest side. Several Texas Brine caverns are near that northwest corner, including the one that failed in August.

So in 1995 there was a concern for the formation and they just went forward.

Shape of salt dome factor in sinkhole Scientists say cavern created too close to edge of Napoleonville Dome

Good catch Auntie B...

This is what happens when you have a bunch of bureaucrats in charge who would father spend their time surfing left handed web sites than actually doing their jobs.

for anyone interested, LA dnr report of well identifications, storage activity, product and volume.
dnr report 9/2012
perhaps someone would plot the active well locations in relation to the new bubble sites ?

Well I am very shocked! Our local news in New Orleans just did a piece on the sinkhole! It was really good IMO, I tried to record the whole thing but ran out of room on my iPad anyway it cut off before it was over. It was on our local CBS station which is WWL, will check in a bit to see if they uploaded it.

They did a good job in reporting on Bobby Jindal's NON action! Also they talked about how big it started, how big it is today, and how big it could become.

Will update as soon as they put it up ..... or if they do!

Here it is:

www.wwltv.com...

reply to post by WhoDat09


Thanks for the link. You are right, the coverage was very good and rough on Jindal. Here is a quote from near the bottom of the article.

As photos from the Louisiana Environmental Action Network show, when the sinkhole first appeared, it was just 400 feet in diameter. As of mid-February, it had swallowed nine acres.

Scientists say the worst-case scenario is it could swallow 40 acres.

Good grief, 40 acres; just how much more damage could that do?

And one more time the news makes it worse than before and 40 acres is one whole heck of a lot worse.

reply to post by happykat39


I don't know what kind of damage that could do! My guess is as soon as it starts impacting Jindal's everyday life! Baton Rouge is not that far from the area.... well it's closer to the area than I am and I care about what's going on there! My aunt lives a little over 7 miles (as the crow flies) from the area, and I can't imagine the whole area sinking into the ground!

Originally posted by happykat39
reply to post by WhoDat09

 

Thanks for the link. You are right, the coverage was very good and rough on Jindal. Here is a quote from near the bottom of the article.

As photos from the Louisiana Environmental Action Network show, when the sinkhole first appeared, it was just 400 feet in diameter. As of mid-February, it had swallowed nine acres.

Scientists say the worst-case scenario is it could swallow 40 acres.

Good grief, 40 acres; just how much more damage could that do?

And one more time the news makes it worse than before and 40 acres is one whole heck of a lot worse.

Actually 40 acres makes sense. If you have seen the plans for the rerouting of highway 70 you will see that they are planning on bringing that road way far away from the sinkhole. They know/knew that this sinkhole is not no little thing. I think they are slowly letting the true gloom and doom out slowly over the 200 days + so that the shock of the true state of what is & will be happening is not so overwhelming. Little doses are easier to swallow!


BTW- I notice that this is getting more attention in LA news. I think they are going to have a hard time burying this story. The word is getting out.