Daisetta Sinkhole Information
The
Liberty
County Office of Emergency Management continues to work with a number
of
agencies in regards to the sinkhole located in Daisetta,
Texas. This
sinkhole occurred on the morning of May 7, 2008 and at the time of this
posting, May 28, 2008, the sinkhole remains approximately 600
feet in
length from north to south and 525 feet in width from east to west. The
estimated depth of the hole is believed to be approximately 150
feet.
There continue to be areas of ground around the sinkhole that are
slowly
falling, however, based on information from
scientists monitoring the
site, this activity was expected and no rapid
expansion has occurred.
There have been no
injuries or deaths as a
result of the sinkhole.
The Texas
Department
of Transportation has closed the section of Highway 770 that
runs near the
sinkhole. The sinkhole remains
approximately 80 feet from the
roadway and the latest information received indicates that the roadway
itself
may have actually subsided approximately 5
inches near the sinkhole
site. The Texas Department of Transportation has stated that
the roadway
will remain closed until a determination can be made as to
whether the
roadway is safe for traffic.
There are a
number of agencies involved in the investigation into what caused the
sinkhole
to occur. These agencies are also working to determine if
further
expansion of the sinkhole may take place in the
future.
Scientists with the United States Geological Survey have
placed monitoring
devices at the site and are compiling data on an hourly basis.
A link to
the monitoring devices being used by the United
States Geological Survey
can be found below.
Below you
will find a list of agencies that are involved in the investigation at
the
sinkhole site. These agencies will be reporting information as it
develops and
will forward their information to our office. Please feel free to
contact
Liberty County Emergency Management Coordinator Tom Branch or
Deputy
Coordinator Debbie Scott at 936-334-3219 if you have any questions
regarding the investigation.
United
States Geological Survey
Contact: Mark
C. Kasmarek
Telephone #
936-271-5318
Email
address: mckasmar@usgs.gov
Texas
Railroad Commission
Contact:
Gil Bujano
Telephone #
713-869-5001
Email
address: gil.bujano@rrc.state.tx.us
Texas
Department of Transportation
Contact: Stephen
Gbur
Telephone #
936-336-2224
Email
address: sgbur@dot.state.tx.us
Dr. Carl E.
Norman
Geologist
Telephone #
713-461-7420
Email
address: DOD895@aol.com
Terri
Bivins
District
Coordinator for State Representative John Otto
Telephone #
936-258-9135
Email
address: terri.bivins@house.state.tx.us
Louisiana
State University
Center for
GeoInformatics
Contact: Dr.
Roy K. Dokka
Telephone #
: 225-578-2975
Website for
USGS Daisetta Sinkhole Monitoring Device: http://tx.usgs.gov/
Update - June 10,
2008
The
Governors Office has denied the county's Disaster
Declaration. The letter stating that the request
had been denied indicated that damage to individual and public
property did not support a request for a major disaster
declaration.
The Liberty
County Commissioners Court has drafted a resolution requesting that
the State Of Texas take responsibility for
permanently monitoring property adjacent to the sinkhole.
This resolution will be forwarded to representatives
of the state in the coming days. The purpose of this
resolution is to ask the State of Texas to set up monitoring devices
that would provide early warning of any possible ground movement in and
around the town of Daisetta.
Update - June
24, 2008
A workshop
will be held on Tuesday, July 1 at 6 30 p.m. at the
Daisetta High School Auditorium.
This is a
joint workshop between the Commissioners Court of Liberty
County, the City of Daisetta, Hull-Daisetta ISD and the Hull-Daisetta
Volunteer Fire Department.
The purpose
of the workshop is to present Geological and Legal options regarding
the sinkhole situation. This workshop is for informational purposes
only and no action will be taken.
Update - July 10, 2008
The public
workshop held on July 1st was attended by approximately 300
people and a presentation was given by Jim Blackburn of
the Blackburn Carter Law Firm.
The
information provided guidance for future action that
may need to be taken by local officials as well as citizens
living in Daisetta. Members of the Hull
Daisetta School Board, as well as members of Liberty County
Commissioners Court and the Daisetta City Council will be evaluating
the information contained in the presentation and each will determine
their next course of action.
Liberty
County Commissioners have already presented Texas Governor Rick Perry
with a resolution requesting that The State of Texas place monitoring
devices at the site of the sinkhole, in order to provide early warning
of any future ground movement.
A
meeting was held on July 8th at the Dayton, Texas office of
State Representative John Otto, regarding state assistance
in dealing with the sinkhole. The meeting was
attended by Liberty County Judge Phil Fitzgerald, as well as Daisetta
Mayor Lynn Wells and members of the Daisetta City
Council as well as members of the Hull Daisetta
School Board. The biggest concern at this immediate time is
finding a way to have a seismic survey conducted in
an effort to determine the stability of the ground in the area
around the sinkhole, which is located just a few hundred yards away
from the Hull Daisetta High School. There
are other concerns as well, including the reopening of Hwy
770, determining when the Railroad Commission intends to
begin cleaning up any substances that may be confined
within the sinkhole, determining what caused the sinkhole to
develop in the first place, and obtaining more timely information from
the Railroad Commission on just what activities they are
conducting at the site and at other locations in
Daisetta. Representative Otto indicates he
will personally advise the Governor as to these concerns.
Daisetta
Mayor Lynn Wells reports that soil samples taken from
his yard, which was damaged by the flow of brine water that
leaked from a nearby well when the sinkhole developed, were negative
for harmful chemicals. The Railroad Commission has advised
they will be removing trees that were
damaged by the flow of this water, and that they intend to cap at
least two previously uncapped wells located in
Daisetta.
Update - July 17,
2008
A meeting
was held on July 14th in the offices of The Texas Railroad Commission
in Austin. The meeting was arranged by State Representative John Otto
and State Senator Tommy Williams and was hosted by members of
the Railroad Commission as well as geologists with the Bureau of
Economic Geology. Liberty County Judge Phil Fitzgerald, Hull
Daisetta School Superintendent Mary Huckabay, School Board
Member Andy McCreight and Emergency Management Coordinator
Tom Branch were also in attendance.
The meeting
focused on several issues, however, the number one priority
was to determine if school in the
Hull-Daisetta School District would be able to begin classes
on August 25th as scheduled. A scientist with the
Bureau of Economic Geology provided documents showing that results of
ground testing done in the area did not indicate any signs
that there was an immediate threat of ground movement in the region
near the school. These test results have also been reviewed
by Dr. Carl Norman from the University
of Houston and both of these scientists have agreed
that there are no current safety hazards that would prohibit
school from opening as scheduled.
There are
many different activities scheduled in and around the sinkhole over the
coming days, weeks and months, including additional ground movement
monitoring, testing of existing disposal wells, and a
continued investigation to determine what caused the sinkhole to
develop. The Liberty County Office of Emergency Management is
receiving daily briefings from the Texas Railroad Commission and any
new information will be posted on this webpage.
Update -
August 6, 2008
The
following information was received from the Texas Railroad
Commission on August 6, 2008:
The Texas Railroad
Commission reports that an LSU website is up that updates every 5
seconds and shows any GPS differential between the high school (on the
auditorium roof) and the Deloach facility (LSU trailer parked at the
South corner of the DeLoach Bldg). The horizontal "zero" line
has two jittering lines tracking movement between the two points ...
the jittering is due mainly to atmospheric noise, but there is still a
background noise factor (traffic, temperature, wind, etc). If
the signal jumps up to the yellow line +/- 0.06 and stays there, the
unit will automatically dial cell phones to alert the
monitors.
The website link is:
http://geoinfo.lsu.edu/joomla/downloads/daisetta/TXD1_Status.html
A report
that a new sinkhole was forming by the school was inaccurate. The
School District Superintendent Mary Huckabay indicated that there was a
hole that developed, associated with a storm water drain and a drainage
issue and that had been a known problem for several years.
Apparently yesterday a truck drove over the problem area and a tire
sank down into the hole.