Although House Bill 617, which would have prohibited drilling in the Lake Peigneur area, failed two weeks ago at the State Capitol, residents are not ready to give up.

They are still concerned about their safety. Since summer 2005, bubbling has been witnessed on the lake and has stirred up concerns. Residents believe that the underground natural gas caverns, operated by AGL Resources, are the reason for that. People in the group Save Lake Peigneur believe that whatever is causing the bubbling could lead to a bigger disaster.

AGL officials say the froth has not been caused by their facility and no source of the bubbling has ever been determined. AGL and the state Department of Natural Resources have done tests and have found no pollutants in the lake. DNR also sent divers and did not discover anything on the lake's bottom that would have indicated a source of the bubbling.

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About two dozen "Save Lake Peigneur" residents traveled to the State Capitol on May 30 to support the bill when it was heard by the House Natural Resources Committee, but only two out of 11 committee members voted for the bill.

Residents have not given up hope, however. During a meeting on Friday, Nara Crowley from Save Lake Peigneur, told lake area residents that members of the group had met with state Rep. Wilfred Pierre, D-Lafayette, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.

They requested that new wording be placed into the bill. Instead of prohibiting drilling in the area, the modified bill woudld call for "no new storage caverns and no conversion of existing caverns for alternate use at Lake Peigneur and Jefferson Island Salt Dome."

Crowley said she believed the meeting with Pierre went "pretty good" and she expects the bill to be back up for discussion in the committee this week.

"He agreed to bring it back as long as the committee agrees with him, otherwise it's dead," Crowley said of the bill with the new wording.

State Rep. Sydnie Mae Durand, D-St. Martinville, said she has talked to Pierre and the House clerk about reconsidering the substitute bill.

"To bring it up again we're going to need a two-thirds vote by the commmittee," Durand said Saturday.

That leaves a small window for the legislative process since the committee meets again on Wednesday, Durand said.

"If we can get the two-thirds vote, if we can get it (Monday) or Tuesday, we could suspend the rules to get it on Wednesday," she said.

"You just never know."

The Save Lake Peigneur group is optimistic about the new proposal because they excluded the oil industry in the new wording.

"We know we can't fight the existing caverns, but we'll do everything to stop the extension." Crowley said, "I believe we still have a chance to win."

The group is expecting bigger support from politicians.

"The industry spends money easily on lawyers and lobbyists, we expect our senators to listen to the little people," said Crowley.

The group has found a staunch supporter in Durand, who said she has sympathy for the people of that area.

"They should hold everything until they can determine exactly what's the cause," she said.