Geologists and seismologists are not the only engaged
professionals raising concerns about fracking wastewater disposal
related induced seismology. State oil and gas officials in both
Arkansas and Ohio have shut down fracking wastewater disposal
wells that have been connected with induced earthquakes. In the
case of induced seismology in the Guy-Greenbrier area or
Arkansas, the state’s governor, Oil and Gas commission, and the
general public all concurred to shut down the responsible injectionwells
as, “nearly 1000 recorded quakes had struck the area since
the wells had started up” (Kerr, 2012).
A moratorium was declared within a 1,150 square mile area
around Guy-Greenbrier on deep-injection wastewater disposal
activities, while seismic-risk studies of the entire Fayetteville shale
play were also required. Additionally, “Affected residents filed a
class-action lawsuit against Chesapeake Energy and BHP Billiton
Petroleum—the first time anyone has sued oil and gas companies
for causing an earthquake” (Behar, 2013). University of Memphis
seismologist Stephen Horton related that once the wells were shut
down the quakes tapered away and ultimately ceased (Kerr, 2012).
The Youngstown, Ohio Fracking
Wastewater Disposal Induced Earthquakes
When a magnitude 2.7 earthquake struck near Youngstown,
Ohio on December 24, 2011, it was the tenth such earthquake in
the 2.0 to 2.7 magnitude range since March of that year connected
with fracking wastewater injection well Northstar 1 owned by D&L
Energy Group.
The well, which came online in December 2010 (just
three months prior to start of seismic activity), received the vast
majority of its wastewater from fracking projects in Pennsylvania
(Fountain, 2012). Nearly 60% of all the fracking wastewater
disposed of in Ohio injection-wells in 2012, 257 million gallons,
originated in others states, marking a 19% one-year increase in outof-state
fracking wastewater injected into subterranean Ohio
(Johanek, 2013).
Prior to January 2011 Youngstown, Ohio had not
experienced an earthquake dating back to 1776 when scientists first
began recording their observations (Choi, 2013).
Upon analysis of the December 24, 2011 earthquake by the Ohio
Department of Natural Resources it was determined that the quake
originated less than 2,000 feet below the Northstar 1 well (Fountain,
2012). No sooner had the State of Ohio put an immediate cessation
to injection at the well, when an earthquake with a 16 times greater
magnitude of 3.9 struck the following week, on New Year’s Eve,
December 31, 2011.
At that point state officials instituted a
moratorium on the
injection of (fracking) wastewater within a 5-mile
radius of the D&L well until scientists had an opportunity to analyze
the data from the string of quakes (Fountain, 2012).
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