Giant Texas Sinkhole Keeps Growing

Officials Speculate That The Collapse Of An Old Salt Dome Is Behind The Big Hole

(AP)  Regulators continued monitoring a massive sinkhole which has swallowed up oil field equipment, poles and some vehicles since surfacing just outside the southeast Texas community of Daisetta.

There were no reports of injuries or of any homes being damaged early Thursday.

Investigators with the Texas Railroad Commission were checking pipelines in the area and trying to determine if any regulations have been violated, said agency spokeswoman Ramona Nye.

Officials with Texas Natural Resources and Conservation were monitoring air and water quality. So far, no pollutants have been detected.

"Right now we're not concerned about any kind of explosion or any kind of hazard," said Tom Branch, coordinator of the Liberty County Office of Emergency Management. "We are monitoring some other things around the area to make sure everyone's OK."

Power provider Entergy cut electric lines Wednesday to prevent power from being cut off in the town.

Sunoco, which manufactures petroleum and petrochemical products, secured two 6-inch crude oil pipelines near the sinkhole that had started to leak Wednesday, said Lester Edwards, hazardous materials coordinator for Liberty County.

Television news footage showed a tractor, some oil field equipment and some telephone poles falling into the sinkhole as it grew near Daisetta, which has a population of around 1,000 and is located about 60 miles northeast of Houston.

The sinkhole was believed to have grown to at least 600 feet long and 200 feet deep by Wednesday night.

Farm-to-Market Road 770 was closed to traffic and vehicles were being diverted to FM 834 over concerns the pit could spread to the roadway.

Officials are trying to determine what prompted the sinkhole near the Liberty County community. But its history as a once booming oil town might be to blame.

The ground might have caved in because of the collapse of an old salt dome where oil brine and natural gas are stored underground, officials said. Daisetta sits on a salt dome, one of the most common types of traps for oil.

Sinkholes are rare and often take up to two weeks to stabilize, said Geoffrey Paine, a geologist and geophysicist with the University of Texas.

[usbrit-2009]

How close is that to Crawford?

Posted by dragonwagon5

Not close enough. Daisetta''s a suburb of Houston; Crawford''s south of Fort Worth. How can they say there''s no pollutants - the water is black.

[prairiefox1]

EMPTY SALT DOME? DOESN''T THAT DESCRIBE BUSH?

[observer2020]

Well, with any luck, it will keep growing until Texas is swallowed up.

[cpaide]

"Well, with any luck, it will keep growing until Texas is swallowed up."
Posted by observer2020

yes, swallow up that filthy president bush and the child "protective" services and the KLK (krazy lesbians kult) which has broken up the mormans women and children from the little village in texas.

[bkylws]

Yes, Texas is the root of all evil. (note the sarcasm)

[quetzalcrist]

we need one in crawford..

All the oil that was pumped out of Texas over the past 100 or so years, they must have forgot something, and that was to fill them up with a replacement....

[cleveqc]

I suppose you would all say the same of Arkansas when President Clinton was around, Or maybe Illinois when Reagan was our leader. Clean up your own lives before you bash others. That%u2019s the problem with most Americans, they spend so much time and effort criticizing others and smearing their names in the ground that they cant look up long enough to realize the very hate they are showing is what is ruining our once great nation. I would have to say that Bush hasn%u2019t been the best president but that was the chosen candidate. Vote more wisely nest time and get over yourselves. Texas is a great state in many eyes, just as your state is in your eyes.

[hippychicky-2009]

Well, with any luck, it will keep growing until Texas is swallowed up."
Posted by observer2020

yes, swallow up that filthy president bush and the child "protective" services and the KLK (krazy lesbians kult) which has broken up the mormans women and children from the little village in texas.
Posted by cpaide

I didn''t know we had crazy lesbian cults. I want to go.
Seriously dude, are you nuts? If so I can suggest some great self help clinics.

[cleveqc]

I suppose you would all say the same of Arkansas when President Clinton was around, Or maybe Illinois when Reagan was our leader. Clean up your own lives before you bash others. That%u2019s the problem with most Americans, they spend so much time and effort criticizing others and smearing their names in the ground that they cant look up long enough to realize the very hate they are showing is what is ruining our once great nation. I would have to say that Bush hasn%u2019t been the best president but that was the chosen candidate. Vote more wisely nest time and get over yourselves. Texas is a great state in many eyes, just as your state is in your eyes.

[dredre2k]

Is this article describing a sinkhole or the american economy?

[cleveqc]

seems like it turned into a forum to bash the Great State of Texas.

[texasgal271]

I LOVE TEXAS!!!

[walt1944-2009]

The Great Emperor Bush II is concerned about the growing sink hole in Texas.

Suspecting that giant earthworms with teeth like those in the movie "Tremors" may be after him, the Great Emperor has ordered scientists to determine what is causing the sink hole and why it is growing. If they cannot find out, he has demanded that they give him a projection as to how long it will take the sink hole to "swallow up" the entire state of Texas, including his beloved Crawdford ranch and the all-important Great Emperor Bush Library.

Not that he cares one bit for the people of Texas, but he wants to insure that HE has enough time to relocate his ranch (and Library, naturally) to the Bushie compound at Kennebunkport, Maine; as far away from the sink hole and what is left of Texas he can get!!!!

SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!!
sig heil, DEFINITELY MORE OF THE SAME, McCain!!!!

[cleveqc]

Surely you dont think God would have something to do with that????????

[cpaide]

Posted by hippychicky

"Krazy Lesbians Kult (KLK):
A lesbian sect generally considered to be Extremist or False, with it''s followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of one or more Authoritarian, Charismatic leaders. Obsessive, especially faddish devotion to or veneration for a person, principle or thing."

[cpaide]

"I didn''t know we had crazy lesbian cults. I want to go."
Posted by hippychicky

i recommend the following good and honest study for more information on the filthy violent nature of the KLK (krazy lesbians kult) which is trying to obtain control of the mormon children:

No More Secrets : Violence in Lesbian Relationships
http://www.amazon.com/No-More-Secrets-Violence-Relationships/dp/0415929466/
"This study of abuse in lesbian relationships looks you in the eye and dares you to turn away. Far from being a prurient study of a fringe group of violent lesbians, this book demands that the queer community at large--afraid of straight disdain --recognize its accountability. No More Secrets illustrates that despite what many lesbian feminists believe, acts of violence are not committed solely by men."

From a sink hole, to bashing bush to lesbians.....this shows to the people of the world Americans lose track of subjects and trains of thought.....

[cleveqc]

(From a sink hole, to bashing bush to lesbians.....this shows to the people of the world Americans lose track of subjects and trains of thought..... )
***I agree***

[oldpilot954]

Heck, we do things big in Texas -- even sink holes. You guys complain about pumping oil out of the ground in Texas and about foreign oil prices then drive, ride a bus or fly where you want to go. If someone doesn''t pump the oil you get to walk everywhere you go, only eat what is grown within walking distance, and only use products that are locally made. Welcome the the 1700s.

[ioweign]

Giant Texas Sinkhole Keeps Growing



Looks like Texas is getting ready for 1.20.2009...

[gkc99]

Is it near Crawford?? Huh?? Huh?? Is it near Crawford??

[gkc99]

To God:

"Oh, Lord, send a great wave. Take us if you must, but TAKE HIM!"

Or a sinkhole will do. More fitting somehow.

[rudy654-2009]

What a metaphor for what Bush has created for this country.

[runningralph]

Texas is a great state. What state is better? But it has been damaged by a huge influx of illegals. With some imagination the illegal immigration problem could be alleviated by the sink hole.

[pollroller1]

Oh the stars at night shine big and bright clap,clap,clap,clap, over that hole in Texas.
I''m sorry, I just couldn''t help myself. hahahaha

[luvny-2009]

Wow too bad it''s not under dumbazz Bush''s crawfish house! Then he might know what it feels like to lose your home, oh wait he has way to much money NOW to worry, he''ll just have someone rebuild at our expense.

[usmcvn2]

But, but, but the surge is working!!!

[samrensho]

I always thought all of Texass was a big sink hole. What''s new.

[bsimon2007]

Oh, I''m sorry, i thought this story was about Dubya...