Wednesday, September 3, 2014

More Earthquakes Could Follow, Frackfree Mahoning Valley Calls For Immediate Halt to Fracking Waste Injection Wells Near Youngstown, Ohio


Frackfree Mahoning Valley                                             News Release




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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

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UPDATES on Niles injection wells on facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.686251914727939.1073741832.205575299462272 
      

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