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Contractors Beginning Work to Test Aquifer in Assumption Parish

Part of Office of Conservation effort to assess contents of water and provide potential sites for vent wells if significant natural gas found

BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Commissioner of Conservation James Welsh announced today that operators contracted by the Office of Conservation will start Wednesday on work to probe the Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer and the soils that lie over it to test for the presence of natural gas and establish venting sites, if needed, between the west side of the Napoleonville Salt Dome and the Bayou Corne community in Assumption Parish.

Welsh previously announced that the Office of Conservation had contracted the services of Walker-Hill Environmental for the drilling of an observational water well, and stated Tuesday that the agency had contracted the services of Pro-Tech to bring additional resources to ensure public safety by testing for the potential of natural gas movement. Welsh said his Office will continue to seek new sites and move as quickly as possible to detect and identify potential public hazards and protect public safety.

The Office of Conservation last week received its first landowner agreement allowing the agency access to drill an observational water well that can be converted, as needed, to vent any significant natural gas concentrations found in the aquifer. The agency continues to work with landowners to identify additional locations for observation wells.

The findings from the drilling and water sampling associated with the observational well will determine the next steps in the process of investigating the condition of the aquifer. Public safety remains the agency’s top priority and the findings will be made public as information is received.