Following a series of failures, the government-backed Sidoarjo Mudflow Handling Agency (BPLS) is seeking another way to stop the flow of hot mud at the exploratory drilling site of energy company Lapindo Brantas Inc. in Porong, Sidoarjo regency.

The mud flow has hampered East Java's economy for the past three years, ever since the mud flow first erupted in May 2006.

BPLS deputy chief of operations Sofian Hadi said the agency and the National Geological Agency would conduct a joint survey around the main outflow site starting Monday in their efforts to seek an effective way to arrest the mudflow.

He made the statement during a Saturday discussion about the proposal of Djaja Laksana, an expert from Surabaya's 10 Nopember Institute of Technology. Djaja presented a Bernoulli-system filtration technology to stop the mudflow to Acting Governor Setia Purwaka on Monday.

Many experts have criticized BPLS for failing to find a way to stop the hot mud. They said the continued outflow has created a large cavern below Sidoarjo as indicated by the sinking ground level, threatening hundreds of houses in the regency with collapse.

The agency has been focusing instead on enlarging the giant pond designed to absorb the mudflow and on channeling the hot mud into the Madura Straits through the Porong River.

"The survey results will be taken into consideration in selecting an effective and efficient method to stop the hot-mud leakages. BPLS has not yet come up with any idea for an efficient and effective solution," Sofian told The Jakarta Post by telephone.

When the mudflow began, Lapindo and BPLS conducted a series of trial solutions, including installing pipeline and dropping stone balls to plug the leaks but to no avail. They then constructed giant ponds in four villages as dumpsites for the hot mud to try to mitigate the damage.

Sophian said further the mudflow has displaced tens of thousands of villagers and many factories, hurting the wider provincial economy because of the damaged public infrastructure, namely the toll road and the Porong highway.

Djaja's proposed using the Bernoulli System. A circular dam made of steel pipelines would be installed to connect about 100 different outflow points and inject the hot mud back into the earth.

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