COLUMBUS, Ohio – A group of U.S. drilling states, seismologists, academics and industry experts issued guidance Monday in a frank new report on handling human-induced earthquakes caused by hydraulic fracturing or the disposal of fracking wastewater.
The 150-page report, produced by the StatesFirst initiative, represents perhaps the most candid discussion on the topic since small tremors across the mid-continent – including in Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and Ohio – began being linked to fracking and deep-injection wastewater disposal around 2009.
It includes descriptions of how states handled various seismic incidents around the country, including their public-relations strategies, and matter-of-factly references links between fracking or deep-injection wastewater disposal and earthquakes. Previously, public admissions had been fuzzy in some cases.
The group stopped short of suggesting model regulations, however.
That’s because each state’s laws and geography are unique, Ohio Oil & Gas Chief Rick Simmers, who co-chaired the effort, told The Associated Press. The report says “a one-size-fits-all approach would not be an effective tool for state regulators.”
Simmers said the report is in the form of a primer, providing states with up-to-date scientific and technical data, case studies and several suggested approaches for detecting and managing the quakes.
Fracking involves blasting water and chemicals into shale formations to fracture the rock and release oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids trapped inside. The process involves thousands of gallons of water that becomes contaminated and must be trucked offsite and deposited at special deep-injection facilities.
Both processes have been associated with human-induced tremors, including some easily felt by people.
Simmers said the report conveys a plethora of important information, directing states on such issues as siting, well depth, construction methods, faults present at the site and how to judge an area’s seismic history.
“Those two oil-and-gas activities do create some seismicity. It is very rare. If you compare it to the amount of fluid that’s injected for disposal or the amount of fluid and the number of jobs that occur for hydraulic fracturing, it’s very rare. But it does occur,” Simmers said. “It is safe. We monitor the operations very carefully as do our counterparts in other states.”
