Gov. Bobby Jindal and other state and local officials met with Texas Brine representatives on March 13. The company responsible for a giant sinkhole in Assumption Parish is sending appraisers to some evacuated homes in Bayou Corne on Monday.
The Governor said company officials will also meet with the State Attorney General’s office on Monday. He said Texas Brine owes state and local governments 4 million dollars, combined, for costs incurred dealing with the disaster.
Jindal has been criticized for a seeming lack of attention to residents’ plight. At a press conference last week, he dodged questions regarding the seven-month-old sinkhole and has yet to visit the site, even though he says he will next week.
He frowned on how long it’s taken Texas Brine to compensate homeowners.
“There was a saying during a previous incident, a local leader said, ‘When they said help was coming tomorrow, it just meant that help wasn’t coming today,’ – we kept hearing settlements and buyouts were coming, they were coming, and they were coming, and when it finally became evident that the company had missed several deadlines with us, we said enough’s enough," Jindal said.
Several homeowners have filed litigation against Texas Brine. The company will seek a federal judge’s advice on how to communicate with those residents.
Jindal also said he’ll create a commission to ensure the long-term safety of Bayou Corne.