Jindal travels to sinkhole, says buyouts progressing

Posted: Mar 19, 2013 3:56 PM by Russell Jones
Updated: Mar 19, 2013 6:57 PM
Source: WBRZ

BAYOU CORNE – Governor Bobby Jindal said today he met with people in Bayou Corne who’d been “uprooted” from their lives because of a sinkhole in the area, and received the latest information about work being done to deal with it.

Jindal said Texas Brine, the company which owns the land the sinkhole appeared on, is starting the buyout process for interested evacuees. He said the company received a court-approved list of residents last week, and will start approaching people to talk about settlements soon.

Jindal said the company may approach residents without attorneys, but will have to go through attorneys to speak to residents who’ve entered class-action suits.

“The bottom line is that Texas Brine is responsible for the sinkhole, and we remain committed to making sure that they clean up their mess,” Jindal said.

He told reporters the sinkhole is currently 700 feet wide and 210 feet deep. He said worst-case scenarios had it growing to reach within 1,300 feet of the Bayou Corne community and 700 feet south of La. 70.

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