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Fracking is linked to increase in small earthquakes in new study

An article published Tuesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences { http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/07/30/1207728109 -- interesting article, by the way, wich shows that MANY earthquakes have happened around fracking sites} concludes that fracking may be causing more earthquakes than previously thought. It is not the drilling that is the culprit, but the injection of polluted waste water into deep wells.

At least 59 “small-magnitude” earthquakes of 1.4 to 2.5 magnitude occurred over a two-year period ending in September in the Barnett Shale region of Texas that were never reported by the National Earthquake Information Center, said Cliff Frohlich, a senior research scientist at the Institute for Geophysics at the University of Texas at Austin.

Earthquakes have occurred in Pennsylvania and Ohio in areas that seldom or never experienced earthquakes. In nearly every case, fracking disposal wells were found near the communities where the seismic activity took place.

Frohlich found that many of those earthquakes happen when fluids are injected into the ground. That may relieve the friction between tectonic plates. When the friction is released, the plates are free to slide causing earthquakes.

These “triggered” events may be exacerbated by fracking along fault lines, and differ from “induced” events that happen solely because of human actions, such as a man-made lake weighing down and compressing a land mass, Frohlich said.

The Frohlich study is one of many that show the connection between fracking and earthquakes. The National research Council reported earlier this year that injection of large amount of water in deep wells in a short period of time could cause seismic activity.

The US Geological Survey confirmed in April that the natural gas boom has led to earthquakes in Midwestern states where such seismic activity was previously unknown.

This is not the first rodeo for deep injection wells being linked to earthquakes. In the 1960’s, Denver began experiencing earthquakes when there was no history of such activity since the Rocky Mountains were formed. The cause was determined to be deep injection wells where polluted waste from the clean up of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, near Denver, was being pumped. When the injections stopped, so did the earthquakes.

Most of the problems associated with fracking center around the waste water it produces. Connected with that is that fracking consumes huge amounts of water. With much of the country in the middle of a drought which is more acute in the arid West, concerns arise about whether we will be forced someday to choose between natural gas and food.

There are solutions to the waste water problem. Purifying and reusing the recovered fracking water rather than pumping it into deep wells would solve the many of the pollution problems, the earthquake problem, and the water shortage issue. It would reduce the risks involved in trucking polluted water to disposal sites.

Technologies are available today that could possible solve the problem. As with everything new, cost may be an issue. Anything that reduces profitability will be resisted. However, the cost of storing, transporting, and injecting waste water coupled with the collateral damage caused by the current disposal methods may make recycling water a good choice.

Will fracking companies make the transition on their own, or will they need to be pushed? Should regulators force them to recover and recycle the waste water as a condition of a permit? If we want to insure that the job-rich boom in fracking can coexist along side humans, perhaps regulators should step up to the plate.

We don’t need a take-it or leave-it debate on fracking. We need cleaner burning natural gas to phase out dirtier coal to slow down climate change. We need to develop this home grown resource to help with energy security. We need gas as a transitional energy source while we move away from fossil fuel generated energy to non-carbon emitting renewable energy. And we also need the jobs and the economic boost that fracking is generating in many communities in Colorado and other regions in the nation.

We must get serious about that transition away from fossil fuels now and an alliance with the natural gas industry could perhaps make that happen faster. It would certainly reduce carbon in the interim. That may be heresy for some in the renewable energy industry, but it is reality.

What is needed is for industry and government to find solutions to the environmental risks of fracking, and there are many. We can not pollute our nation and risk our health just to recover natural gas. Water recycling is a place to begin. http://www.examiner.com/article/fracking-is-linked-to-increase-small-e
arthquakes-new-study

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The astonishing surge in domestic natural gas production, brought on by the widespread use of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, has transformed the outlook for U.S. energy. Conservative estimates project the use of these techniques in shale gas development will all but assure a clean and affordable natural gas supply for generations to come, creating new jobs and enhancing our nation’s energy security.

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--Many reports of groundwater contamination occur in conventional oil and gas operations (e.g., failure of well-bore casing and cementing) and are not unique to hydraulic fracturing.

--Methane found in water wells within some shale gas areas (e.g., Marcellus) can most likely be traced to natural sources, and likely was present before the onset of shale gas operations.

--Surface spills of fracturing fluids appear to pose greater risks to groundwater sources than from hydraulic fracturing itself.

--Blowouts — uncontrolled fluid releases during construction or operation — are a rare occurrence, but subsurface blowouts appear to be under-reported.

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Water tests conducted last October confirmed the Ellsworths’ water well was being contaminated by natural gas, Amee Ellsworth said. Flames as high as three feet ignite when she holds a cigarette lighter next to water flowing from her faucet.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission performed the October tests on the Ellsworths’ water. Dave Neslin, acting director for the commission, said tests indicate the water is contaminated from a natural gas well, but the source has not been confirmed. Eight natural gas wells are located in the area surrounding the Ellsworths’ country home. http://www.airandaqua.com/blogs/flammable-water-fires-up-colorado/

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But, many injection wells (where waste water was injected) did not have any earthquakes at all. The author hypothesizes that earthquakes can only occur if there is a suitable fault nearby.

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...a comprehensive study has settled the question: Yes, fracking can. However, the number of earthquakes linked to fracking operations is very small; many more temblors are linked to conventional oil and natural gas extraction http://news.yahoo.com/fracking-cause-earthquakes-oil-gas-extraction-ma
y-cause-190500024.html

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