Associated Press - November 7, 2009 9:25 AM ET
CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) - The bright yellow signs on U.S. 285 are the first indication that things aren't right in Carlsbad, N.M.
Motorists are warned that: "U.S. 285 south subject to sinkhole 1,000 feet ahead."
But there's little other evidence of a giant cavern.
Over the past few decades, communities in Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Canada and Europe learned of similar danger only after cracks appeared and the ground began to sink.
Regulators are trying to determine how to prevent future collapses by better managing a practice that's used throughout the world.
Most brine wells operate far from homes and businesses, but Carlsbad's is unique because it is in a population center.
The city council and the Eddy County Commission declared a state of emergency Thursday. That's the first step to free state and federal funds that could be used to figure out how to stabilize the cavern.
On the Net:
http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/ocd/brinewells.htm
City of Carlsbad: http://cityofcarlsbadnm.com/index.html
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