La. sinkhole methane explosion possible says sheriff, refuting naysayers

– Parish Emergency Declared – 19 June 2012

• Extended 30 days on 9 November, 2012

– Next public briefing – 13 November, 2012 at 7:00 PM / St. Joseph Church

• Texas Brine conducted the following operations on their investigatory well: • Collected a total of 4332.6 bbls(cumulative total as of 8 November 2012) of hydrocarbons from the Oxy 3A Cavern. • Flared a total of 544 mcf of metered gas(cumulative total as of 8 November 2012)

• Air Monitoring Sample Data
– 1 letter (dated 10/18/2012) was released to the parish during this operational period for community ambient air and air at bubble sites sampled 9/28/2012- 10/14/2012 (MultiRAE). Findings-It does not appear that chemical exposure of site-related contaminants poses a public health risk to individuals in the immediate area of Bayou Corne for the time period and chemicals sampled.
– 1 letter (dated 10/18/2012) was released to the parish during this operational period for residential ambient air sampled 9/28/2012-10/13/2012 (MultiRAE); Findings-It does not appear that chemical exposure of site-related contaminants poses a public health risk to individuals in the immediate area of Bayou Corne for the time period and chemicals sampled.
– 1 letter (dated 10/18/2012) was released to the parish during this operational period for air samples collected 9/26/2012 and 10/2/2012 (isotopic analysis); Findings-This data is meant to characterize the gas in the bubbles and wells sampled. These type of analyses do not provide data that could be used for assessing public health.
– SEET has received and is analyzing community ambient air sampled 10/15/2012- 11/4/2012 (MultiRAE). SEET will issue a letter to the parish in reference to these findings once the review of the data has been completed.
– SEET has received and is analyzing sample results for air at bubble sites collected 10/15/2012/2012-11/4/2012 (MultiRAE). SEET will issue a letter to the parish in reference to these findings once the review of the data has been completed.

• Industrial Water Well Sampling Data – 1 letter (dated 10/18/2012) was released to the parish during this operational period for industrial wells sampled on 9/26/2012. Findings-DHH recommends immediate remediation of industrial water wells with high levels of methane.

– Safe Drinking Water – 1 letter (dated 10/18/2012) was released to the parish during this operational period for two privately-owned water wells sampled on 9/26/2012. Findings-DHH recommends property owners routinely monitor for the presence of methane in the tested water wells.

– As of 06 November, Texas Brine has removed 123 roll off boxes hydrocarbon contaminated debris. – As of 06 November, Texas Brine has removed approximately 1535 Barrels of hydrocarbons from the surface of the sinkhole.

Next Operational Period (8-13 Nov 2012) Incident Action Plan

– Pursant to the DNR press release dated 11/7/2012 regarding the pressure in some geoprobes, LDEQ will conduct indoor air monitoring as requested at residential homes in the Bayou Corne community.

Texas Brine, LLC UPDATE November 9, 2012 1. The Observation Well was opened this morning for two hours during which approximately 60 barrels (or 2,520 gallons) of liquid hydrocarbon were displaced from cavern #3 to the surface. Results from yesterday’s measurement of the total depth of the cavern revealed that the cavern floor has risen another four feet since last measured on November 1. The next total depth measurement will occur next Thursday, November 15.
2. Only a small amount of hydrocarbon remains to be removed from the surface of the sinkhole. The surface will be carefully monitored to see if any additional oily material accumulates. Skimming of the small amount of liquid hydrocarbon material observed in the tree-filled swampy area bordering the sinkhole continued today.
3. Between 8:00 a.m. yesterday and 8:00 a.m. this morning, another 34,000 cubic feet of natural gas was vented from the shallow aquifer relief well and safely flared at the surface. The venting and flaring continues 24 hours a day.