Cargill sink formed as a result of solution mining of salt near Hutchinson, Kansas. The sudden collapse of bedrock and near-surface, water-saturated sands into the underground brine-filled cavity created the sinkhole and left the Missouri-Pacific railroad tracks suspended 6 meters in the air. The volume of the crater was estimated at 70,000 cubic meters.

Susan Ward Aber - The Many Uses of Salt from the Earth

Kansas Geological Survey - Hutchinson Response Project

Hutchinson was rocked by an explosion and subsequent persistent fire destroying two downtown businesses
and injuring several people. Over the next 24 hours geysers of salt water and gas erupted in the eastern part
of the community. An explosion and fire at the Big Chief Mobile Home Park resulted in the death of two
citizens. The situation was terrifying and the cause unknown. Local government personnel were all working
around the clock to insure public safety, fight the fires, and trying to figure out what was occurring.

The City Fire Department and Police were the front lines in responding to the incident. As the nature of the
event unfoldedthe Local Emergency Preparedness Department becamethe focal pointin coordinating efforts.
Literally all city personnel from Fire, Police, Public Works, Emergency Response were involved. Responses
included fire fighting and keeping citizens away from dangerous areas, all the while trying to determine what
was happening.

As it became apparent natural gas was involved, contacts were made with federal and state agencies and the
gas company, Kansas Gas Service. A pipeline leak was initially suspected, but company and agency reviews
of the operations showed no evidence of pipeline problems. Kansas Gas was reviewing pipeline and
distribution operations and also operations atthe Yaggy underground gas storage facility. Pressure anomalies
were notedat storage well S-1 prompting further investigation including video logging of the well. The video
logging revealed a hole in the well casing at a depth of 600 feet. This is thought to be the source of the gas
causing the eruptions in Hutchinson. Kansas Gas Service took steps to reduce leakage by removing gas from
the well and setting special plugs to seal the leak. All gas was removed from storage well S-1 and the storage
cavern was filled with brine. The state required no more gas be placed in the Yaggy facility as a safety
precaution. Kansas Gas Service brought in nearly 200 employees to search for leaks in the community. Public
buildings, such as schools, were surveyed with detection equipment. Additionally special sniffer trucks cris-
crossed the town and geo-probe units were used to monitor suspect areas. These surveys continue today as
a precaution.

Local and state officials and Kansas Gas Service officials agreed it was in the best interest to attempt to drill
special wells designed to vent gas from under Hutchinson. The gas was apparently traveling up to seven miles
under ground and rising to the surface through old salt solution mining wells. The location or potential danger
of these old, unplugged brine wells was not known. The geysers in east Hutchinson and the source of the
downtown explosion were all from old brine wells. Location and completion of the vent wells required
considerable geologic research and expertise. The first 4 wells did not hit gas, but eventually 13 of the 57 (8
of first 30) vent wells drilled were successful in venting gas, thus relieving the danger of further releases.
The vent wells also dropped the pressure and volume of gas under the community. Only 3 of these vent wells
still show small amounts of natural gas. Plugging of the dry vent wells, i.e., those not hitting gas, has been
initiated with two wells being recently plugged. Plugging will continue through the summer. Certain wells
are being logged in an effort to learn more about the travel pathways of the gas. Several of the vent wells
might remain in place as sentinels or safety relief wells allowing gas to escape without harm to the public.
Kansas Gas Service paid the expenses for theinstallation and operation of the vent wells. Kansas Gas Service
paid for the plugging of these two vent wells and will pay for the plugging of the remaining vent wells.

Approved: March 12, 2002 Minutes of the House Commitee - PDF

Natural Gas Explosions in Hutchinson, Kansas

Kansas Geological Survey, Hutchinson Response Project

Kansas Supreme Court Strikes Down Jury Award
Oct 26, 2007 06:22 PM
KWCH News

TOPEKA, Kansas (AP) - The Kansas Supreme Court strikes down a jury verdict awarding $7.7 million for the 2001 natural gas explosions in which two Hutchinson residents died.

The award had been against Tulsa, Oklahoma-based ONEOK and two of its subsidiaries - Kansas Gas Service and Mid-Continent Market Center. ONEOK owned and operated a natural gas storage facility northwest of Hutchinson.

Experts testified a series of explosions were caused by the escape of 143 million cubic feet of gas from the facility.

In reversing the award in the class-action lawsuit, the court said property owners did not show there was physical damage to their individual properties. Instead, they contended the stigma of danger lowered property values throughout the area. 

Eyewitness Report
January 18, 2001

This is too weird. This whole town is on pins and needles. It started yesterday morning with a huge explosion downtown. The fire still has not gone out. I went there last night and talked to a police officer and he told me that they shut off all possible gas lines and it still won't go out. They do not know what is feeding it. This morning there was another explosion about six blocks from where I live. There is at least 8 natural gas leaks all around the city. I grabbed some things and am waiting this out at my shop right now. They have evacuated by my house. I sent my family to the north side of the city. This is too weird. Has anyone else ever heard of anything like this? Hutchinson is built on salt mines. Makes you wonder if natural gas has built up in them. The National Guard is getting ready to be called out. They are not sure if they need to evacuate the whole town. There is somewhere around 30,000+ people here.

Dan

I will keep you all posted as I can.

SOURCE: Chiefsplanet.com

In January 2001, natural gas exploded in the central Kansas town of Hutchinson, killing two people, destroying two downtown businesses, and creating a series of geyser-like spouts of water and gas. For weeks, Hutchinson residents wondered what had happened and worried about what was coming next.

Today, some of the most heavily examined geology in Kansas lies beneath western Hutchinson, along the probable path that the gas took into town. The Kansas Geological Survey used a variety of techniques to study the area. While the gas’s movement isn’t completely understood, Survey geologists know a great deal.

Here’s the Survey’s working hypothesis. The source of the natural gas, or methane, appears to be a storage facility west of Hutchinson (near a railroad-siding town named Yaggy). In the 1980’s, salt caverns were created for storing propane in a layer of rock called the Hutchinson Salt Member of the Wellington Formation, about 500 to 600 feet below ground. These same salt beds are mined in Hutchinson and throughout central Kansas.

Salt caverns are effective for gas storage because gas can be quickly introduced, and later removed. That’s especially useful during times of peak demand, like cold winters.

At Yaggy, the salt didn’t fail. But a pipe (one used to put gas in and take gas out) did fail. For at least three days, highly pressurized methane escaped through a hole in the pipe and moved up until it reached a permeable zone near the contact between the Wellington Formation and the overlying Ninnescah Shale. These rocks dip (or are angled) very slightly to the west, and the pressurized gas moved up that dip until it found a way to the surface.

In Hutchinson, a town with a century’s history of salt mining, that didn’t take long. Gas first exploded after it moved up an old well that was used to produce mineralized water for a spa. The second explosion occurred at the site of an abandoned well that was used to dissolve and mine salt.
 
 

Kansas Geological Survey - Survey Responds to Hutchinson Natural Gas Explosion

June 11, 2008 01:44 PM
by Cliff Judy
KWCH News

Sinkholes in one Kansas County are getting larger.  A research group in the county says it can't control the sinkholes.  It can only help people prepare.

Brandy Lake is something of a misleading name.  The lake east of Hutchinson along US-50 Highway is actually a sinkhole that developed thousands of years ago.  The sinkhole is actively, if only gradually, growing.

Salt about 400 feet below the county dissolves when groundwater gets to it causing the ground to sink.  Researchers use special vehicles to send sound waves underground.  Microphones then pick up echoes and tell them what's happening with the salt.

"We have no control over the natural process," says Rick Miller with the Kansas Geological Survey.  "All we can do is respond to it.  What we hope to do is acquire this data, interpret this data, and get an edge on Mother Nature, if you will."

Knowing what's in the future can be critical in predicting problems for highways and buildings.

"(We want to) be able to tell our engineers and other folks we may have a problem in this location and get it fixed ahead of time," says Bob Henthorne with KDOT.  "We don't want to come out here and have a hole already developed and have it be a surprise."

Testing will continue in Reno County through then end of the month meaning parts of US-50 will be down to one lane.  Researchers hope to present their findings in four to six months.

NOTE: NO PHOTOS; NO GOOGLE EARTH IMAGE AVAILABLE

HUTCHINSON, Kan.–Six hundred and fifty feet beneath the Kansas prairie, in a mined-out section of a working salt mine, a man in a gray plaid suit sits at a telex machine typing out and receiving messages. This is only a test-the man comes to the salt mine two times a year for a communications drill. But if a nuclear attack had been launched against the United States, the messages he is sending and receiving would be devoted to re-establishing the services of the Federal Reserve Bank in the devastated country.

SOURCE and Rest of Story: Corporate Civil Defense