MASS BIRD DIE-OFFS: "This Is An EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT,... We're ALARMED,..." - 35 Brown Pelicans Found Dead On Grand Isle, Louisiana?!

The brown pelican, Louisiana's state bird.
© Times-Picayune

February 7, 2016 - LOUISIANA, UNITED STATES - As many as 35 brown pelicans have been found dead on Grand Isle in the past two weeks, prompting an investigation by scientists with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. They've dismissed suspicions that the birds were shot but have yet to determine the cause of death.

The dead pelicans were first reported to the Grand Isle Police Department, which asked state officials to investigate. "In the wintertime, we always get some calls about dead pelicans, but this seems to be an extraordinary amount," said Cheryl McCormack, secretary to Police Chief Euris DuBois. "We're alarmed about the number of them."

The brown pelican, Louisiana's state bird, was removed from the federal list of endangered and threatened species in 2009, but it is still protected under federal law. The birds had largely vanished from Louisiana's coast by the mid-1960s, after exposure to the pesticide DDT resulted in too-fragile eggshells.

More than 1,200 pelicans were imported from Florida in 1968. But the time of delisting, there were more than 12,000 breeding pairs in Texas and Louisiana.

Several dead brown pelicans collected by the Grand Isle Police Department in recent days have been turned over to wildlife officials, and others were being collected on Wednesday (Feb. 3) for testing, said Michael Seymour, a non-game ornithologist with Wildlife and Fisheries.

He said there have been several estimates of the number of dead birds, including 14 along several miles of beaches and 20 in a single mile of beach. A survey by a Wildlife and Fisheries employee found 15 or more birds over several miles.

Seymour said officials already have dismissed early reports that some of the pelicans might have been shot. A veterinarian with the department will conduct a necropsy, an animal version of an autopsy, on better-preserved carcasses, he said.

"Hopefully, we'll have an answer in the next few days, but we're not entirely sure," Seymour said. If the necropsies are unsuccessful, bird carcasses might be sent to a federal wildlife disease research center out of state for a more comprehensive review.

Seymour said it's not unusual to find dead pelicans washing up on beaches or elsewhere during cold, winter months, especially juvenile birds that starved to death before learning the best hunting skills. Some winter pelican deaths are the result of parasites, he said. Still others can die in the aftermath of winter storms, the result of being caught in cold rain, having their feathers become waterlogged then succumbing to hypothermia.

"It's not necessarily unusual to see pelicans dying in the winter," he said. "What may or may not be unusual is the number of dead birds. We don't have a baseline of what to expect each year; we don't have anybody counting dead birds every year." - NOLA.

GEOLOGICAL UPHEAVAL: Sinkholes Keep Popping Up Across North America - Man Injured After Falling Into Sinkhole In Buffalo; 40 By 20 Feet Wide Sinkhole Opens And Swallows Trees In Marietta, Georgia; Fire Engine Rescued From 15-Foot Deep Sinkhole In Brooklyn, New York; One Person Suffers Minor Injuries After Van Falls Into Toronto Sinkhole; Homeowners File Federal Lawsuit Over Sinkholes Issues In Easley, South Carolina; Sinkholes Develop After Rainy Season In Warren County, Kentucky; Northern Kentucky Mayors Want Growing Number Of Sinkholes Fixed; And Louisiana To Include Sinkholes In Disaster Planning!

April 22, 2015 - NORTH AMERICA - Here are several of the latest reports of sinkholes across North America as monumental planetary transformations continue.

Man injured after falling into sinkhole in Buffalo

A man was injured Sunday after a sinkhole formed underneath him while he was walking.

Take a look at this video.

WATCH: Man says son fell into Buffalo sinkhole.

A city engineering employee says the man was walking across High Street when he fell into a hole that formed around him.

He was taken to ECMC for treatment.

No word on how serious his injuries were.

Crews are covering the sinkhole with a metal plate for the time being.  - TWC News.

Forty by twenty feet wide sinkhole opens in Marietta, Georgia; swallows trees

A 20-foot sinkhole in suburban Atlanta swallowed trees and threatened businesses.

WSB-TV reported the hole opened on private property in Marietta, about 80 miles west of Athens.

City workers say a loose connection between two pipes rusted and water rushed out, causing the hole to open. They estimate it is 40 by 20 feet wide.

The sinkhole is close to the street and several businesses.

City officials said on Monday that crews planned to work through the day to make repairs.  - Athens Banner Herald.

Fire engine rescued from 15-foot deep sinkhole in Brooklyn, New York

A fire engine had to be rescued in Brooklyn on Tuesday.

The stuck truck was parked on the street outside Brookdale Hospital in East Flatbush when a 15-foot-deep sinkhole opened up and swallowed its front right wheel around noon.

About a dozen firefighters stacked pieces of wood near the tire of the Engine Co. 257 truck to keep it from sinking deeper into Rockaway Parkway.

But one of the planks then sprang out and hit two of the emergency responders.

Both were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Puzzlingly, they were taken to Kings County Hospital instead of being treated at Brook­dale. Authorities could not immediately explain why.

© NYPost/Paul Martinka

© NYPost/Paul Martinka

FDNY Chief Stephen Moro of Division 15 said it's unclear what caused the sinkhole. "This is an odd one," Moro said.

A few hospital workers who witnessed the incident said it was frightening.

"It's scary because they just [repaved] this street after putting in new pipes," said Paulie Johnson, who works in the security office at Brookdale's Urgent Care Center. "It looks good from the surface, but we don't know what's underneath."

Another hospital worker, Alicia Headley, noted, "It's a very deep hole, and it could've been anyone stuck there.'' - NY Post.

One person suffers minor injuries after van falls into Toronto sinkhole

A van that fell into a sinkhole on Tangiers Road early Tuesday morning is shown.

One person was taken to hospital with minor injuries after a van fell into a sinkhole near York University during the Tuesday morning rush hour.

The van was travelling along Tangiers Road near Finch Avenue and Keele Street at around 7 a.m. when its front-right wheel fell into a giant sinkhole that had opened up on the street.

Police are urging drivers to avoid the area.  - CP24.

Homeowners file federal lawsuit over sinkholes issues in Easley, South Carolina

A sinkhole in the front yard of a home in Easley’s Oak Creek subdivision(Photo: Ron Barnett / Staff)

A homeowners group in Easley’s Oak Creek subdivision has filed a federal lawsuit against the city, claiming that the crumbling storm water drainage system in their neighborhood is causing a sewer line to fail.

The action comes just as the city has inked a $1 million contract to install a new drainage system to fix gaping sinkholes that have plagued the neighborhood for decades because of legal questions over who was responsible.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Anderson, asks that the court issue the city civil penalties of at least $1 million under the federal Clean Water Act.

It also seeks an injunction to “prevent any work on the storm water system that is not fully in compliance with the laws, regulations and standards of the USA.”

Easley Mayor Larry Bagwell said on Monday he hasn’t seen the lawsuit and couldn’t comment directly on it.

He said, however, that the city, along with Easley Combined Utilities and the state Department of Health and Environmental Control, did tests using underground cameras and found no sewer leaks.

Cassandra Harris, a spokeswoman for DHEC, confirmed “No sewer line breaks or leaks were found” in camera tests done on March 2.

A pollution-testing station downstream has reported that bacteria levels are within acceptable limits, DHEC said.

Luc de Gaspe Beaubien, leader of the homeowners group that filed the lawsuit, said camera tests are not sufficient to detect sewer line leakage. Smoke tests and electrical conductivity tests, he said, are needed to determine that.

The lawsuit includes as an exhibit a request from the city in 2010 to borrow $2.5 million for Oak Creek sewer and drainage improvements from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, a low-interest funding source administered by DHEC.

In answering what water quality parameters the project would address, the city listed “fecal and storm water runoff pollutants.”

The application says, “The existing corrugated metal storm drain system has failed, causing subsurface erosion that is jeopardizing the existing sewer line, causing failure in that pipe resulting in contamination and degrading the water quality…”

DHEC spokesman Jim Beasley said the city notified DHEC in 2012 that it “had changed the scope of the project and decided to self-fund, therefore the lending process did not go any further.”

City officials questioned Monday said they couldn’t remember the specifics of the application.

Bagwell said the city last week approved a contract for $1,080,000 with Stone Excavating of Anderson to rip out the old storm drainage system and replace it with concrete piping, and to repave everyone’s driveway that the project cuts through.

After years of wrangling, all 21 homeowners — except de Gaspe Beaubien — have agreed to the city’s terms, which include giving them a voucher to repair landscaping damage to their front yards.

According to condemnation documents filed at the Pickens County courthouse, the city intends to pay de Gaspe Beaubien $2,600 for damages to his property, a figure he says is far below the actual value.

The condemnation proceedings won’t hold up the project, the mayor said.

Residents who have been at odds with the city for years over the issue are skeptical that the project the city plans will solve the problem.

“Personally I’m just going to wait and see how the chips will fall, and I’ll believe it when I see it,” said Jodie Dudash, who lost a legal fight with the city over the issue in 2006.

At the root of the legal morass is the question of who is responsible for fixing the problem.

The developer died years ago. And although the city accepted the streets into its system, the drainage system runs through private property and isn’t owned by the city.

The city’s plan calls for replacing the leaky 1,548-foot pipe along Creek Drive with a 48-inch concrete pipe that city officials say should be sufficient to drain the worst storms in a 10- to 25-year period.

The lawsuit claims that the proposed repair job, “does not meet federal nor state nor county requirements and guidelines; to include the 100-year flood plain requirements.”

Bagwell and Tommy Holcombe, city building official, said they believe the project the City Council has approved will solve “the immediate problem” and could be upgraded if needed.

“He is wanting a Cadillac and we’re wanting a car with good gas mileage,” Bagwell said. - Greenville Online.

Sinkholes develop after rainy season in Warren County, Kentucky

A pothole caused by rain is repaired on Monday, April 20, 2015, on Gotts Hydro Road. (Austin Anthony/photo@bgdailynews.com)

The rainy season in Warren County has again led to troubles with sinkholes, though as of yet, no Corvettes have been endangered.

Both the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 3 and the city of Bowling Green have had road closures this week because of sinkholes opening.

The state Department of Highways closed a section of Gotts-Hydro Road in Warren County between Goshen Church South Road and Carl Jordan Road on Monday after a small sinkhole formed.

The road was reopened Monday afternoon after the sinkhole was repaired.

The city of Bowling Green closed a portion of Chestnut Street on Monday because of a sinkhole collapse. One lane will be closed to through traffic between Third Avenue and Short Street through Friday, according to a city news release.

Wes Watt, public information officer for the state Department of Highways, Bowling Green office, said he has rarely seen sinkholes that required road closures.

But the rainier the season, the more likely it is that sinkholes will develop, he said.

“It definitely could be an issue, especially given our history with sinkholes in this entire area,” Watt said.

In February 2014, a sinkhole opened under the Skydome at the National Corvette Museum, swallowing eight Corvettes on display.

Josh Moore, Warren County Public Works director, said the county hasn’t received an abnormal number of calls about sinkholes this season, but they tend to be unpredictable.

The county only repairs sinkholes that are along county rights-of-way or on a drainage easement, he said. That policy went into effect in June.

An exception is if the sinkholes have previously been repaired by the county or were in the process of being repaired, Moore said.

The county has one large sinkhole-related project that needs to be completed, which is the repair of a series of sinkholes that opened in a retention basin in the Ewing Ford Place neighborhood, he said.

The county has another 10 to 15 small sinkholes to be filled in, Moore said.

Bowling Green has 17 work orders associated with some type of sinkhole report, said Bobby Phelps, public works operations manager with the city.

He said the amount of rain in the area, coupled with a high rate of rainfall, means drainage structures can be overwhelmed. That can accelerate the sinkhole problem.

Bowling Green City Commission will consider accepting a bid of $53,000 from Fletcher Excavation LLC of Bowling Green tonight for sinkhole repairs.

Phelps said city workers have prioritized some of the worst sinkholes and hope the private contractor can decrease the number of sinkholes that have yet to be repaired.

In addition to sinkholes, road departments in the region are working to fill in potholes caused by harsh winter conditions.

Watt said District 3 crews have been busy patching potholes, but some of that work has been delayed because of wet weather.

Potholes can be reported by calling the district office or going to the district website, he said. The Bowling Green office can be reached at 270-746-7898 or online at transportation.ky.gov/ district-3/Pages/default.aspx.

Jerry Young, Warren County Road supervisor, said county road crews are patching potholes every day. Potholes can be reported by calling 270-843-8328.

Jeff Lashlee, city public works director, said the city has a road crew that repairs potholes on a regular basis. - BG Daily News.

Northern Kentucky mayors want growing number of sinkholes fixed

A group of mayors in northern Kentucky are seeking a solution to the growing number of sinkholes along streets caused by crumbling underground sewer lines.

The Kentucky Enquirer (http://cin.ci/1bkrb2Y) reports the Kenton Mayors Group met Saturday and approved a resolution that asks Sanitation District 1 to restart a program it ended in July 2013 that helped repair crumbling sewer laterals and streets.

The mayors say in the resolution that the sinkholes, the lateral breaks and the crumbling streets are matters of public health and safety.

Residents have been responsible for repairs since the service ended, but street fixes haven't been consistent.

Sanitation District Director David Rager said the service was eliminated due to budget cuts.

"We did do the repairs for about five years," Rager said. "We averaged about 75 repairs a year across Campbell, Boone and Kenton counties." He said the program cost the district spent about $600,000 annually.

Covington City Manager Larry Klein said the city has so many sinkholes caused by the lateral line problems it has run out of steel sheets to cover them.

Although it has been harder hit because it has more older homes, some mayors said they expect the issue to spread.

"This will eventually be an issue for everyone," said Independence Mayor Chris Reinersman, who noted his city has a fair share of older homes as well as new. "I feel like there is too much risk to the individual property owners, as well as the taxpayers in general, to leave repair of sewer laterals in the right of way up to the property owner."

Rager said officials are currently discussing budget projections for next year. - Kentucky.

Louisiana to include sinkholes in disaster planning

A Bayou Corne sinkhole, shown here, prompted the evacuation of residents. A new hazard mitigation plan would map the 2-mile radius
around salt domes to help predict sink holes.(Photo: AP)

Sinkholes will be recognized as threats in the state’s updated hazard mitigation plan.

The the state is working on a five-year update to its hazard mitigation plan, which must be in place to receive federal money after natural and man-made disasters.

For the first time, the state will map salt domes and their surrounding 2-mile radius in each parish.

“That’s the best way they can predict if a sinkhole might happen within the parish,” said Lauren Stevens, a project manager with the Baton Rouge-based Stephenson Disaster Management Institute, which is compiling the plan.

Salt domes are pockets of salt deep in the ground that are sometimes drilled out and used to store crude oil, natural gas or other material.

A failed salt dome cavern is suspected of causing a 29-acre sinkhole to form in Bayou Corne in Assumption Parish in August 2012.

When it was discovered, 350 residents were advised to evacuate.

There are 16 salt domes identified in Lafourche Parish.

Local governments will now have to mitigate for those potential sinkholes under the new plan, said Chris Boudreaux, the parish’s director of homeland security and emergency preparedness.

Boudreaux learned about sinkhole causes and their aftermath by helping his brother, John Boudreaux, who is the director of homeland security and emergency preparedness in Assumption Parish throughout the disaster.

There is not much government can do to prevent existing salt domes from becoming sink holes because the drilling has already taken place, he said.

The hazard mitigation plan also covers threats from floods, levee breaks and coastal erosion.

Officials are looking for input on the plan from residents in each parish.

Stevens said the feedback helps parish officials know what risks residents are most concerned about and how they want to receive information about disasters.

“It gives them a better idea about what the community is looking for, what they’re worried about,” she said. - The Town Talk.