State approves permit for sinkhole relief well

The state Department of Natural Resources says it 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. Conservation Commissioner Jim Welsh ordered the company to drill the well last week, and it had until today to submit a permit application or face a $5,000 per day fine until one was filed. Texas Brine says it will set up a fund to assist residents. About 150 homes and several businesses have been evacuated as a precaution. “Texas Brine has met the requirement set for the company to have that permit submitted, but that is not the end of their responsibility,” Chustz says in a statement. “That emergency order also requires them to give us regular reports on the progress of the drilling and the methods they will use in determining the status of the cavern when they reach it.”