Fracking our way to destruction, one state at a time.
In Ohio, a swarm of earthquakes is being attributed to hydrofracking activity:
Geologists in Ohio have for the first time linked earthquakes in a geologic formation deep under the Appalachians to hydraulic fracturing, leading the state to issue new permit conditions Friday in certain areas that are among the nation's strictest.
A state investigation of five small tremors last month in the Youngstown area, in the Appalachian foothills, found the injection of sand and water that accompanies hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the Utica Shale may have increased pressure on a small, unknown fault, said State Oil & Gas Chief Rick Simmers. He called the link "probable."
While earlier studies had linked earthquakes in the same region to deep-injection wells used for disposal of fracking wastewater, this marks the first time tremors in the region have been tied directly to fracking, Simmers said. The five seismic events in March couldn't be easily felt by people.
Oklahoma, which is usually more concerned about tornadoes this time of year is also a hotbed of earthquake activity this past month. Take
a wild guess as to why that might be:
In the week ending Saturday, 48 quakes larger than the magnitude of 2.5 had struck, says Paul Caruso, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
In the past month, there have been 157 quakes larger than magnitude 2.5.
"We've never seen anything like this in Oklahoma," Caruso says.
You see, according to that article, Oklahoma, prior to 2008, averaged 2-6 earthquakes a year. In 2009, that figure jumped to 50 a year. And that number just keeps increasing. In 2011 an earthquake of 5.6 on the Richter scale < ahref="http://newsok.com/record-5.6-magnitude-earthquake-shakes-oklahoma/article/3620706">hit Oklahoma, the largest in the state's recorded history. Funny thing, though, is that the USGS and Oklahoma Geological Survey are not yet ready to point the finger at increased oil and gas drilling, including the use of hydrofracking and deep well injection technology, though they do admit - reluctantly - that there might be some slim chance of a connection:
The February OGS report says it "has not ruled out that some earthquakes may have a relationship to oil and gas activities such as water disposal/injection, and examining these issues remains a major focus of ongoing research."
Yet the report adds that "the majority, but not all, of the recent earthquakes appear to be the result of natural stresses, since they are consistent with the regional Oklahoma natural stress field."
An October statement from the USGS, made in partnership with the OGS, says "a contributing factor to the increase in earthquake triggers may be from activities such as wastewater disposal — a phenomenon known as injection-induced seismicity."
But at this point, "there is nothing conclusive" regarding the cause of increased earthquakes, says Priyank Jaiswal, an assistant professor at Oklahoma State University's Boone Pickens School of Geology.
(Don't you just love that the School of Geology at OSU is named after T. Boone Pickens. But I digress.)
Yet, despite concerns, many states are rushing to expand oil and gas drilling. Idaho, which experienced a wave of hundreds of small earthquakes up to 4.9 on the Richter scale this week, is nonetheless hoping for more drilling operations such as this one:
CANYON COUNTY – In the past several years we've heard about companies looking for natural gas in areas of western Idaho. Now, a company is drilling for oil.
The drilling site is in northern Canyon County. Trendwell West, out of Michigan, is trying to confirm what their geologist tests have found, that there's oil in this ground. [...]
[Joanna] Tyler says Notus could use the help.
"Maybe it will boost us so that we can maybe make life a little easier for everyone," said Tyler. [...]
The company has a permit from the state to drill over 5,000 feet into the ground.
Hmm, I wonder what could possibly go wrong drilling wells a mile deep into the earth and injecting - whatever the heck they use - into those wells in an area full of faults and currently experiencing an major increase in earthquake activity? Beats me. Maybe they should ask the good people of Ohio and Oklahoma. Just sayin' ...