Frackfree Mahoning Valley News
Release
______________________________________________________
CITING
THE 2.1 MAGNITUDE WEATHERSFIELD EARTHQUAKE THAT OCCURRED NEAR YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO
ON AUGUST 31, 2014, FRACKFREE MAHONING
VALLEY (FFM) RELEASES A STATEMENT THAT CALLS FOR AN IMMEDIATE HALT TO FRACKING
WASTE INJECTION AT THE TWO WELLS IN QUESTION. FFM BELIEVES MORE EARTHQUAKES
COULD FOLLOW.
GEOLOGY
PROFESSOR, DR. RAY BEIERSDORFER, WILL GIVE UPDATED SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION ON
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 ABOUT THE NEW WEATHERSFIELD QUAKE AND THE
EARTHQUAKES THAT OCCURRED IN MARCH, 2014, NEAR A HORIZONTAL FRACKING OPERATION
IN POLAND, OHIO.
ALL
MEDIA AND THE PUBLIC ARE INVITED TO ATTEND DR. BEIERSDORFER’S SEPTEMBER 3, 2014
TALK TITLED, “THE SCIENCE OF SHALE GAS: GEOLOGY, SEISMOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL
CONCERNS,” AT YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY, MOSER HALL, ROOM 2000 AT 7:00 PM
EASTERN TIME.
Youngstown, Ohio, September 3, 2014 – Here we go
again? Could the Youngstown, Ohio, area face more earthquake swarms due to
fracking waste injection?
In the
interest of protecting the public health, safety, and well-being, concerned
citizens of Frackfree Mahoning Valley (FFM) are calling for an immediate halt
of all waste injection at two, new Weathersfield injection wells that are,
reportedly, near the epicenter of the 2.1 magnitude earthquake that occurred on
August 31, 2014 in the Weathersfield/ Niles, Ohio area. FFM wants to know if waste injection is still
ongoing at the wells, or not.
Please
see a WFMJ-TV news report of September 2, 2014, titled, “ODNR investigating
quake centered at Weathersfield injection wells,” at the following url:
For an
earlier news report, please see a WFMJ-TV news report of September 1, 2014,
titled, “Weathersfield earthquake raises new questions about injection wells,” at the
following url:
Frackfree
Mahoning Valley says that it recently held a press conference on August 14,
2014 in Youngstown, where geology professor, Dr. Ray Beiersdorfer, raised
questions about a July 11, 2014 “Order by the Chief” of the Ohio Department of
Natural Resources (ODNR) allowing an increase of injection pressure at one of
the two injection wells in Weathersfield.
FFM distributed copies of the ODNR order to media who were in attendance
at the press conference.
Frackfree
Mahoning Valley observes that about two weeks after urging more scrutiny into
ODNR’s allowing increased injection well pressure, a 2.1 magnitude earthquake
occurred. Was this just a coincidence or
is it linked? FFM says that an objective, independent, scientific investigation
should take place to see if there is an actual link that can be documented. The
group says that all injection at the Weathersfield/Niles injection wells must
stop now. The public deserves to know
whether or not increased pressure actually was implemented at the injection
well, or wells, before the earthquake occurred.
Many
questions remain: As mentioned above: Was there an actual increase in pressure at
the injection well following ODNR’s July 11, 2014 order? Is the Youngstown-area
community on the path of having yet more earthquakes due to deep well waste
injection that may have lubricated an unknown or known fault?
Why
should the local community care about a 2.1 magnitude quake? There are many
reasons, including that Youngstown has already experienced a swarm of at least
109 tremors followed by a now-famous 4.0 magnitude earthquake on December 31,
2011, linked to an injection well, Northstar 1.
The
group says that the link of fluid injection into injection wells and potential man-made
earthquakes (induced seismicity) has been established scientifically for
decades. If the current 2.1 magnitude quake is indeed associated with the injection
well or wells, could Youngstown be facing more, and possibly bigger earthquakes
to come?
The
largest earthquake linked by scientists to waste injection wells is a Prague,
Oklahoma 5.7 magnitude quake in 2011.
One alleged victim has recently filed a lawsuit in that case. FFM says
that earthquakes cannot be strictly regulated to keep them small. This is toying with nature and needs to stop.
The risks and costs of potential earthquakes are too high a price to pay, says
FFM.
Frackfree
Mahoning Valley stresses that more scientific investigation is needed before
anyone can claim definitively that the Weathersfield injection wells and the
earthquake event is linked in reality. One should not leap to conclusions, but
it is still a good, valid, scientific question considering the proximity of the
wells to the August 31 earthquake epicenter and the established history of
man-made seismicity associated with injection and fracking wells in the
Youngstown, Ohio, area.
Could
this 2.1 magnitude quake be the beginning of a series of quakes similar to the
2011 earthquake swarm that science has now shown involved over 109 tremors?
Please see the following chart that lists
some of the earthquake activity in 2011:
Frackfree Mahoning Valley says it does not have confidence that the Ohio
Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) will adequately safeguard the public
health and safety based upon ODNR’s previous handling of the 2011 earthquake
swarm related to the Northstar 1 injection well that led to the 4.0 magnitude
earthquake. That quake was reported as felt in the local area, several surrounding
states, and as far away as Canada. Throughout
most, if not all, of 2011, ODNR denied and minimized the significance of the possible
injection well links to the repeated local earthquakes, as evidenced by the
following Vindicator timeline:
See
“Earthquake Time line,” Vindicator, March 16, 2012:
Please
also see a March 17, 2014 press release by Frackfree Mahoning Valley for more
details of the group’s concerns about ODNR’s handling of the 2011 earthquake
situation at:
FFM
says the right thing to do to protect public health and safety is for ODNR to immediately
halt injection at the Weathersfield injection wells, if it has not done so
already.
Furthermore, ODNR and local officials should be making plans for
earthquake preparedness and educating the public of correct earthquake
preparedness safeguards since apparently our area has become earthquake-prone
when it never was before.
As part
of a previously planned educational talk titled, “The Science of Shale Gas:
Geology, Seismology and Environmental Concerns,” geologist Ray Beiersdorfer,
Ph.D., Professor of Geology at Youngstown State University, will answer
questions and provide the latest scientific information that he has gathered about
the August 31, 2014, 2.1 magnitude Weathersfield earthquake. Dr. Beiersdorfer
will also provide new information about the March, 2014 earthquakes in Poland
Township, Ohio, that took place near a horizontal fracking well operation. All media and the general public are invited
to attend this free event. Dr.
Beiersdorfer’s talk will be held on Wednesday, September 3, 2014, at 7:00 PM,
Eastern Time, at Youngstown State University (YSU), Moser Hall, Room 2000. Dr.
Beiersdorfer’s talk is part of an educational speaker series on Energy and the
Environment that is taking place this Fall, 2014 semester on Wednesdays at YSU.
READ MORE: http://www.frackfreeamerica.org/blog/youngstown-state-university-site-of-speaker-series-on-fracking-concerns-will-be-held-september-though-november-2014
An
important excerpt from a journal article discussing the Northstar 1 injection
well by Dr. Won-Young Kim follows:
“Although we do not know the WSW-ENE extent of the fault(s) in
the Youngstown area, it is possible that continued injection
of fluid at Northstar 1 well could have
triggered potentially large and damaging earthquakes. “
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL
RESEARCH: SOLID EARTH, VOL. 118, 3506–3518, doi:10.1002/jgrb.50247, 2013
“Induced seismicity associated with fluid injection into a deep
well in Youngstown, Ohio,” Won-Young Kim http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jgrb.50247/abstract
For media inquiries or more information, please contact Frackfree Mahoning Valley at:
234-201-0402 or e-mail: frackfreemahoning@gmail.com
# # #
UPDATES on Niles injection wells on facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.686251914727939.1073741832.205575299462272
For media inquiries or more information, please contact Frackfree Mahoning Valley at:
234-201-0402 or e-mail: frackfreemahoning@gmail.com
# # #
UPDATES on Niles injection wells on facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.686251914727939.1073741832.205575299462272
