$54M sinkhole project to start
Authorities say brine well collapse in Carlsbad could be a billion-dollar disaster
State hopes to prevent brine well collapse in Carlsbad.
A $54 million project to stabilize a decommissioned brine well threatening Carlsbad will move forward Monday after a state board finalized contracts and budgets for the work Friday at the state Capitol.
The Carlsbad Brine Well Remediation Authority, headed by the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department and composed of members from state and local governments, signed off on the final proposals to acquire access to land in the area, which means the process of buttressing the well to prevent a massive collapse could start Sept. 30 — 11 years after the well was closed down.
John Heaton, a designee on the authority for Carlsbad’s mayor, said his concern was ensuring agreements with owners of property threatened by the potential sinkhole were hashed out as quickly as possible to get people out of the area.
“We’ve been very concerned about any delays because the risk goes up every day for collapse,” he said. “We’re very happy to get all the finances and contracts all resolved with the parties.”
The brine well was drilled in the 1970s into a shallow layer of salt about 500 feet below the surface. It operated for decades, producing nearly 7 million barrels of brine for oilfield use. But the process also hollowed out an area the size of two football fields, eventually destabilizing the land above. I&W Inc., an oil services company in Carlsbad, operated the well from 1995 until 2008, but filed for bankruptcy after facing a lawsuit by the city and state accusing it of creating potential danger.
Two other brine wells near Artesia drilled around the same time already have collapsed.
The large cavity under Carlsbad has spread under one of the busiest highway junctions outside the city, the “Y” intersection of U.S. 285 and U.S. 62/180, which is the main thoroughfare for oil and gas transportation — an industry that makes up one-third of the state’s budget. The state Department of Transportation estimates over 15,000 vehicles a day pass through the area.
A collapse could create a sinkhole large enough to fit the state Capitol and would threaten a general store, a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, railroad tracks and a mobile home park. Also threatened are 25,000 acres of farmland across Eddy County fed by the irrigation canal running parallel to the highway.
Experts estimated the collapse could occur in 2020, causing damages exceeding $1 billion.
To prevent collapse, the project calls for drilling 16 wells that will be used to fill the cavern with grout in a yearlong, around-the-clock operation to stabilize
the walls and create pillars to support the surface. Brine from the well would be used to mix up to 833,355 cubic feet of grout.
In 2018, the state and local governments pledged about $45 million toward the project. Carlsbad and Eddy County committed $4 million each, while the New Mexico Road Fund promised $30 million over three years. The New Mexico Legislature earmarked $3.5 million from appropriations and capital outlay funds, and bonding produced another $2.8 million.
The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department sought federal funds for the work but was told the project didn’t meet requirements.
Now — with a plan developed, gross receipts tax calculated and property access purchased — the cost has risen to an estimated $54 million, leaving a projected shortfall of $9 million.
Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Secretary Sarah Cottrell Propst, who serves as chairwoman of the Brine Well Remediation Authority, emphasized Friday the shortfall was expected and that the authority would seek $6.8 million more from the state, while Eddy and Carlsbad would pick up the rest.
“When the 2018 session was happening, we did not have a final contract amount,” Cottrell Propst said. “Everything that was pieced together; it was based on a guess, not an actual contract, and it did not ever include taxes, property access or overhead.”
Dan Kwiecinski, the principal engineer for Wood PLC, the contractor for the project, said part of the increase was due to problems finding a drilling subcontractor.
“It took us three rounds,” he said. “There weren’t a lot of drilling subcontractors that were interested in drilling over a cavity, to be honest.”
A complex system of underground sensors is constantly monitoring the brine well for microseismic activity, sending reports to a computer every minute, which is compared to data every five minutes. In the event of an alarm, said Jim Griswold, the project manger for the state, local emergency services would receive texts and emails.
Eddy County and Carlsbad emergency management departments have met with the state and developed responses if the worst comes to pass.
“They know what to do,” Griswold said. “It’s mostly just moving people away, shutting roads down and shutting off utilities.”