Link Between Fracking and Earthquakes? - Acadiana's Multi-Media News Station

Link Between Fracking and Earthquakes?

According to the a geologists report conducted for the U.S. Government the number of earthquakes in the central United States rose "spectacularly" near where oil and gas drillers disposed of wastewater underground, a process that may have caused geologic faults to slip.

In the last year scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey say the average number of earthquakes of magnitude 3 or greater in the mid continent has increased six times the 20th century average.

the abstract does not explicitly link rising earthquake activity  to fracking, but the wastewater generated by fracking and other extraction processes  may play a role in causing geologic faults to slip causing earthquakes.

the American Natural Gas Alliance, which represents major energy companies involved in natural gas fracking said it was difficult to conclude anything based on an unpublished abstract.

But according to the Interior Department the disposal of wastewater underground, called injection, has long been known to have the potential to cause earthquakes.

The good news is human induced quakes are typically quite shallow, but it can be enough to crack the foundations of homes and generate other expensive problems for home and business owners.