Daisetta Community Weighs Options In Wake of Sinkhole

Part of their town was swallowed by a giant sinkhole, now people in Daisetta are coming together tonight to figure out what happens next.  That coming together was with city, Liberty County and the school and fire districts at a joint workshop this evening.

There wasn't a consensus of what the community should do next, but it's clear people want to know what happened, why it happened and how to prevent it from happening again.

The Liberty County Judge started by telling the crowd of more than 200 that everyone was there to get the same information, at the same time, and independently from the government.  Houston environmental attorney Jim Blackburn shared his expertise, recounting the history of sinkholes in the Southeast Texas area, and explaining what is known about the most recent one in Daisetta.

Blackburn offered the theory that companies operating in the area are most likely the blame for the sinkhole.  Then he suggested several plans of action, if that is determined to be the case.  Those options ranged from community lawsuits against the Texas Railroad Commission for failure to protect the public from saltdome activities, to litigation involving the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Officials say there's just not enough money to do it all on their own, and the main goal now is securing help.

So far, there has been no official cause determined and the state has denied a request for disaster funding.