Submitted by Charlton Stanley, Guest Blogger
About five hours after its discovery in 2012, the hole was about 300 feet in diameter. It now covers approximately 26 acres. Geologists with Texas Brine point out it is still growing, and is probably going to double in size.
Last December, new information was published in the journal Geology. Cathleen Jones, a radar scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA and her colleague Ronald Blom did aerial surveys of the Bayou Corne area as soon as they could after they heard about it in April 1013. Jones commented that she feared little would show on the radar because all the vegetation and water-soaked swampy ground was likely to confound precise radar measurements. She was wrong, “The signal was so big it overwhelmed all that noise [from the soil moisture]. When I looked at the data, I thought, ‘Wow, this is an enormous signature.’ I couldn’t believe it.” She added, “The whole area was moving toward the sinkhole.”
Jones and Blom now report the earth’s crust moved horizontally about ten inches between June 23, 2011 and July 2, 2012 when they did their flyover measurements. There was no surface movement before 2011.
About a month ago, one of the berms that surround the lake began sinking. It is supposed to be about six feet above water level. It sank 4.5 feet. More trees sank into the hole. Note in the video below they slide sideways a good distance before sinking out of sight. Despite the obvious danger, work crews are continuing to work on the berms, doing what they can to slow the growth of the hole. This video was made last Sunday, January 5.
Now for the legal twist to the story. Texas Brine officials have complained that a second insurer has refused to pay. They have a policy with Arch Specialty Insurance Company, but Arch is disputing the claim. Last October 22, Liberty Insurance Underwriters Inc. filed a lawsuit against Texas Brine in U.S. District Court in Houston. The lawsuit asks the Court to declare the insurer does not have to pay on its $50 million policy. Liberty alleges Texas Brine had years of warning about a potential salt dome collapse. Obviously, Texas Brine disputes those allegations.
Mr. Mese wrote, “Arch’s conduct violates both the letter and the spirit of Louisiana law governing fair claims handling by insurers.” The complaint adds that Arch ignored requests for a resolution, even reneging on an agreement to meet at Arch company offices in New Jersey on December 12.
There is still unidentified geological activity in the area. A little before 2 p.m. Wednesday, reports began coming in about tremors with loud thunder noises 45 miles from the Bayou Corne sinkhole, and about 140 miles northwest of BP’s Macondo Prospect oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. There are vast amounts of methane gas in the caverns as well as hundreds of pipelines carrying potentially explosive and hazardous chemicals criss-crossing the area.
This is not over yet. The best we can hope for is that no one dies.
Sources:
….and a lot more.