For quite some time, environmentalists have speculated that fracking may be contributing to the rise of small earthquakes within states that participate, leading to studies in places like Oklahoma, Ohio and elsewhere. In the middle of last year, I pondered this question as Oklahoma went through 7 earthquakes in a 14 hour period.
Now, however, a scientific study has come out which validates this line of thought.
SAN FRANCISCO – A new study links the March 2014 earthquakes in Poland Township, Ohio to hydraulic fracturing that activated a previously unknown fault.This study opens the door for a new re-evaluation of the impact of fracking on our environment.The induced seismic sequence included a rare felt earthquake of magnitude 3.0, according to research published online by the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA).
In March 2014, a series of five recorded earthquakes, ranging from magnitude 2.1 to 3.0,
occurred within one kilometer (0.6 miles) of a group of oil and gas wells operated by
Hilcorp Energy, which was conducting active hydraulic fracturing operations at the time.
Due to the proximity of a magnitude 3.0 event near a well, the Ohio Department of
Natural Resources (ODNR) halted operations at the Hilcorp well on March 10, 2014.