State agency to send divers into Peigneur

THE DAILY IBERIAN

A state agency is set to do what residents of Save Lake Peigneur have long requested: Get to the bottom of the mysterious bubbling problem.

The Department of Natural Resources, "probably this Thursday and Friday," is scheduled to send one or two divers to the bottom of Lake Peigneur in hopes of finding the source of at least seven bubbling episodes, DNR spokeswoman Phyllis Darensbourg said this morning.

Two abandoned dry holes are located in the vicinity of the bubbling. The holes were plugged in 1948 and 1954. The so-called "dry holes" are where there was once drilling activity, but no oil or gas production.

Protocol dictates that the holes and the surrounding casings were probably sealed off and plugged, officials said.

The bubbling has alarmed residents here. It starts with a long line of bubbles, then turns into a stream of froth that disappears after a few hours. The incidents have occurred in November and December and on Jan. 11, 20 and 31 and Feb. 10 and 18, eyewitnesses have said.

No one has been hurt, as far as residents know, Nara Crowley, a lake resident, said.

AGL Resources and the Department of Environmental Quality have conducted several tests, and some diesel elements were found, but no cause or dangerous chemicals have been located. Crowley and others say the bubbling could be occurring because of two underground storage caverns owned by AGL Resources, which denies the charge.

This morning, Crowley was headed to Baton Rouge with other residents to meet with LSU Louisiana Geological Survey Engineer Chacko John, who said last week he had never heard of such a bubbling problem.

She is bringing maps and videos and will be meeting with John's team to find out what the next step could be to find the source of the bubbling.

Crowley said if experienced commercial divers are on the job, the efforts are to be commended. She said she and others were happy that someone is "taking a position" on the matter.