Could Fracking be to Blame for Quakes in Ohio?

It was recently published in Scientific American, the winner of the 2011 National Magazine Award for General Excellence, that the fracking itself is not the cause of the repeated quakes, but rather it's possible that the disposal of fracking wastewater into wells is the culprit.

Because of the close proximity of the quakes to a wastewater injection site, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources had mobile seismographs installed in the vicinity of the quakes.

The seismographs revealed, with 95 percent certainty, that the last two earthquakes were within 100 meters of each other.

Additionally, they both placed within 0.8 kilometers of the injection well and at roughly the same depth as the fault that caused the quakes.

Youngstown, Ohio, tends to be seismically inactive, but it's friction that keeps the faults from moving, AccuWeather Expert Senior Meteorologist Jim Andrews said.

"By injecting fluid underground, existing faults may be unlocked."

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How Shale Fracking May Hurt Your Investment

Quick Look: Companies like Continental Resources and Chesapeake Energy are two oil companies largely engaged in shale fracking, with Chesapeake forecasting more than 50% of its revenues coming from shale. Integrated oil companies that aren't completely dependent on shale will be a safer bet for investors.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/01/26/investopedia70484.DTL

State approves two new gas/oil wells in the area

Quick Look: ODNR permitted a well in Mahoning County’s Goshen Township on State Route 14 — also known as Cleveland-East Liverpool Road SEmD just north of W. Middletown Road. ODNR permitted another well in Columbiana County’s Washington Township, on Hazel Run Road near Steubenville Pike Road.

 http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/jan/25/state-approves-two-new-gasoil-wells-in-t/?nw

Fracking debate parallels 99 percent’s campaign against the 1 percent

Many 99 percenters (and I imagine many of the wealthy, too) have begun to make their voices heard. Witness the bans and moratoriums on fracking implemented by different states and communities across the country. Witness the recent shutdown by the state of Ohio of five "fracking" wells around Youngstown after a series of earthquakes. Witness the recent polling data indicating that 72 percent of Ohioans think that fracking should be halted (Reuters, Jan 19, 2012). Witness the grassroots opposition by Athens' residents and organizations who want a moratorium on fracking because evidence of its ill effects cannot be ignored.

Some supporters of fracking demonize fracking opponents as "environmental extremists," "anti-Ohio" and "anti-jobs." Many of our critics belong to the 1 percenters; others are certain politicians. Some live among the 99 percenters, hoping to cash in on the boom. But extremists, anti-Ohio and anti-jobs we are not. We are simply acting as responsible stewards of our environment and protectors of our health and quality of life. Many fracking opponents are not against oil and gas exploration/extraction so long as best practices and strong, enforceable regulations are put into place to protect the environment and public health. In the absence of such regulations, fracking cannot be allowed. Athenians, stand strong and continue to make your voices heard — No Fracking!

Jim Montgomery

Rosewood Drive
Athens

Join the protest! http://www.facebook.com/events/139941972791724/

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Anti-fracking group to submit county plan

According to a report submitted by the group on their experiences, they were hosted by the Wetzel County Action Group in their tour. Many Athens area residents have been taking the Wetzel tour, and have submitted descriptions of what they've observed as op-eds to The Athens NEWS.

"Northern Wetzel County is home to 33 Marcellus Shale gas wells and three compressor stations installed by Chesapeake (Energy) in a six-square mile area of the county since 2007," the report states. "Chesapeake has a total of 140 wells permitted in Wetzel, and many additional wells and permits exist with other companies. What was once miles of bucolic forested and agricultural West Virginia countryside is now a rural industrial petrochemical complex."

The report was provided by local resident Al Blazevicious. Other members of the group included Ann Brown, Ken Edwards, Jane Jacobs, Bruce Kuhre, Loraine McCosker, Celia Wetzel and Athens City Council member Michele Papai. Some of these individuals, including McCosker and Wetzel, have been outspoken critics of horizontal hydraulic fracturing.

"We saw numerous ridgetop drill pads and compressor stations, and spoke to several farmers who experienced significant impacts on their water, air, land, livelihoods, property values, personal health and quality of life," the group reported.

That change in landscape was a major thrust of the group's report.

"The life and viewscape in Wetzel County has changed from rolling agricultural hills, woods, streams and ponds, to an industrial landscape," they said. "The ridgetops are now filled with gas wells, storage tanks, compressor stations, huge storage ponds with slipping dams, while the trucks, noise, pollution and frack waste roll on (into southeast Ohio)."

They wrote that responsible citizens have an obligation to themselves and the community to view the impacts of the drilling technique firsthand.

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Fracking gets its own "Occupy" movement

This is a story about water, the land surrounding it, and the lives it sustains. Clean water should be a right: there is no life without it. New York is what you might call a “water state.” Its rivers and their tributaries only start with the St. Lawrence, the Hudson, the Delaware, and the Susquehanna. The best known of its lakes are Great Lakes Erie and Ontario, Lake George, and the Finger Lakes. Its brooks, creeks, and trout streams are fishermen’s lore.

Far below this rippling wealth there’s a vast, rocky netherworld called the Marcellus Shale. Stretching through southern New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, the shale contains bubbles of methane, the remains of life that died 400 million years ago. Gas corporations have lusted for the methane in the Marcellus since at least 1967 when one of them plotted with the Atomic Energy Agency to explode a nuclear bomb to unleash it. That idea died, but it’s been reborn in the form of a technology invented by Halliburton Corporation: high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing -- “fracking” for short.

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Opponents Blast North Lima Injection Well

NORTH LIMA, Ohio -- Julia Fuhrman Davis, a resident of Beaver Township, billed the session as "North Lima Injection Well Meeting" but the gathering of some 200 township residents Tuesday night was more like a kangaroo court.

Even before Davis called the meeting to order, the list of speakers and agenda implied a presumption of guilt. The oil and gas industry -- D&L Energy Inc. in particular -- has a callous disregard for the environment and is interested only in profits, the speakers would say. 

Her agenda began (the emphases are in the original):

"The Beaver Township injection well on Route 7, named North Star Lucky #4, will soon be receiving hazardous industrial waste waterfrom PA. A by-product of Marcellus/Utica Shale gas fracking, it contains chemicals (that cause cancer, birth defects and other health problems), salt, heavy metals and radioactive materials."

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