Fracking is Headed to Federal Court for Earthquake Claims

LITTLE ROCK (CN) - Fracking by Chesapeake oil and Billiton Petroleum caused "thousands of earthquakes" that damaged homes in central Arkansas, two families claim in Federal Court.

Johnny and Patsy Miller and Christopher and Rebecca Krisell sued Chesapeake Operating and BHP Billiton Petroleum, claiming their fracking "caused thousands of earthquakes in mini-clusters and swarms in central Arkansas in 2010 and 2011," including Arkansas' largest earthquake in the past 35 years.

Now this next part is something I hadn't heard before.... Hmm..

Chesapeake owned and operated injection wells throughout Faulkner County, near Greenbrier, the families say.

The complaint claims that "scientists have known for half a century that disposal well operations will cause earthquakes. In fact, since the late 1960s scientists studying whether earthquakes and seismic activities can be induced by certain human actions have accepted that induced seismic activity can and does occur."

Source

Oh Really? I think I need to start paying more attention to these court cases and what comes of them. This one isn't too far from where I live. I know the debates over fracking on here have been intense at times. There will be nothing quite like evidence coupled with sworn testimony to help get to the heart of the matter.

If this is causing quakes, they need to knock it off. There are other ways and if there aren't...we do without. One catastrophic quake involving major population centers will make any gains from this drilling trivial by relative comparison. Evidence is needed...and I agree there completely. However, IF these cases produce it, this needs to end until the issues are resolved, if they can be.

Just my thoughts. What a mess.

I read something a few months back concerning earthquakes and all the earth excavation during the 49er days here in California. The arguement boils down to all the earthquakes over the millenia causes earth to settle in certain spaces, almost like buttressing a wall. Remove a portion of it and the wall will then settle in a new position.

There are a lot of little quakes all over the world, so I could see fracking -with all its extraction and rock deformation- causing the land scape to shift and exacerbating what would overwise be a benign event.

It will be interesting to see where this case goes.

reply to post by GreenGlassDoor

Just a small point. It's my understanding that the fracking itself isn't causing any damage, it's the disposal of the fracking liquid which is the problem. If the government decides that there is no safe place to put the liquid, that might stop all American fracking. It can't be placed close to the surface and can't be placed in a river or lake.

The USGS survey has not been peer reviewed, the old cliche "more study is needed" comes to mind. I suspect that there is a problem, but is there no solution?

Reply to post by charles1952

Correct mea if I'mI wrong, but I've gathered that it works both ways. During extraction you have to create enough pressure to force the oil/gas out, so that overpressure causes the existing fissures to fracture to allow in the new liquid until it flows back towards the borehole as main source of pressure relief.

The waste injection wells is the same process but in reverse: enough pressure to shoot the junk into a place that won't presumably damage the water supply.

I get what they're going after: using existing studies to prop up their case as waste injection is better studied than fracking extraction as more people use it.

I might be wrong, but I believe both directions will create cavities and deformation.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Lets put it this way.
Say there is a group drilling and fracking not far from you.
Then,lets say you can light the water from your faucet afterwards.



ATS keeps shutting down for me,so that will be my limit for now.After 4 tries.

Sorry

Originally posted by charles1952
reply to post by GreenGlassDoor

 

... If the government decides that there is no safe place to put the liquid, that might stop all American fracking.

Highly unlikely.

We haven't decided on a "safe place" to dispose of spent fuel rods from all of our nuclear power plants, but that hasn't stopped our nation from continuing to promote nuclear energy.

Glad you are following the court stuff. Keep us updated to its ongoing information!!!!

Here are threads that were discussed that we actually had members involved in bringing it to attention. Heck we even got Erin Brockovich to notice!

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Fracking should be banned full stop. It caused an Earthquake a few miles from me a couple of years ago and where I live Earthquakes aren't that common. SO because of it, they stopped the fracking for a while but have now been giving the go ahead to start it again as long as they install a traffic light system. A system that uses a seismometer, if it's low the lights green and they can continue, if they measure something at 0.1-0.4, it goes amber, which is a sign they need to stop soon, if it measure 0.5 or higher they have to stop immediately. I'm just worried that even if they stop, they've already done the damage and set the wheels in motion for an Earthquake, so to me the traffic light system is useless. They justify it by saying the Earthquakes caused are small, but how long until they trigger a devastating one? Why is it, people have to die or be seriously injured before they stop and pay attention? They don't care what the environmental damage is either as long as they can keep on raking in money.

Story

Ya gotta love the corporate double think.....
They stop fracking because of an earthquake, then because their are no further earthquakes they restart the fracking agin....duh? I can see where thats going.......
Who is really allowing all this corporate devastation which is being unleashed, not on us so much, but on our poor helpless grandchildren???

reply to post by stirling

Oh.. that is priceless.

It sounds like the age old doctor joke. You go into the doctor and he asks what's wrong. Well, you point and say it hurts when I do this and that. The doctor then looks, carefully considers and tells you to just stop doing this and that, it won't hurt anymore, as he hands across a bill. ...only this adds how you figure it's fine to do 'this and that' because it doesn't hurt when you don't.

Yeah... The logic used in some of this is just stunning in it's ......lack of depth.

Just as a side note to those all interested in fracking and the damage it causes.

See a documentary called 'Gasland' if you haven't already.

And as per the topic at hand... Please... They are fully aware of what the chemicals are doing in the process of extracting gas/oil and they don't care.
So I doubt they will care if they find EQ's are linked to fracking also.

reply to post by Sovaka

Hi Sovaka, It is true, they don't care! I talk from personal experience. I had 2 properties here in NW Louisiana where I had to leave because of fracking. Water wells get contaminated/ruined. They slant drill and you can feel the power of the drilling...the house would vibrate. They aren't supposed to drill within 500 feet of private residences yet they do. Here in Louisiana, there are constant problems of fish kills and such from illegal dumping of the waste water. They have pumping stations/generating stations that make so much noise that sleep is impossible. The local news stations covered folks complaints and legal action was brought about if I remember correctly, all to no avail. The oil/gas industry rules and that's that. Gasland is a good/informative movie to watch. There are muffling type aparatus that could cut down on noise factors but they prefer not to spend money on same.

Some residents actually do have flame come out of their water pipes/spickets. Seems to be lots more Cancer cases near fracking neighborhoods. One can buy bottled water but if you water gardens with the water/bathe in it, you still get exposed. Is awful. So many harmful chemicals involved...Americinum, uranium, toulene, benzene, napthalene, methanol, formaldehyde, ethylene glycol, hydrochloric acid, glycol ethers, sodium hydroxide, coalbed methane and more. That is only a partial list. The actual "cocktail" is a secret formula that they don't even have to reveal to the govt. Nice one.

The power involved in the pressure exerted/drilling has to affect the ground/rock beds. There is a problem now in the GOM where the BP folks are investigating siesmic activity occurring at an ancient volcano in the gulf. Too close for comfort relevant to the New Madrid. BP has been drilling around the volcano. The volcano in the GOM is not all that far from New Orleans and the Bayou Corne fiasco. Thats another problem area due to fracking perhaps as well. Can the fracking in/around the New Madrid set the thing off one has to wonder.