BAKERSFIELD, CA -- The report, funded by the environmental groups "Clean Water Action," "Earthworks" and the Center for Biological Diversity, says there's a growing body of evidence that suggests earthquakes can be induced by the hydraulic fracturing practice of pumping production waste water back into the ground at high pressure.
The report also warns of potential risks from the practice of "Acidizing," using powerful acids to melt rock and release oil from shale rock formations.
Clean Water Action says the areas at highest risk are those in the Southern Valley, with the highest number of injection wells near well-known fault lines, in the same general area of the Monterey Shale formation.
When you take large volumes of wastewater and inject it deep into the ground, it changes the pressure on the geology and would change the pressure on nearby faults because of the large columes going in. The other risk is that if any of the fluid actually got into a faultline, it could actually slip and cause an earthquake. We also found the state is not adequately monitoring or regulating this process," says Andrew Grinberg, clean water action.
Clear Water Action says the best way to protect Californians is to place a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing and other unconventional oil and gas recovery techniques. Our calls Thursday to the Western States Petroleum Association for comment on this report were not returned.
The report also warns of potential risks from the practice of "Acidizing," using powerful acids to melt rock and release oil from shale rock formations.
Clean Water Action says the areas at highest risk are those in the Southern Valley, with the highest number of injection wells near well-known fault lines, in the same general area of the Monterey Shale formation.
When you take large volumes of wastewater and inject it deep into the ground, it changes the pressure on the geology and would change the pressure on nearby faults because of the large columes going in. The other risk is that if any of the fluid actually got into a faultline, it could actually slip and cause an earthquake. We also found the state is not adequately monitoring or regulating this process," says Andrew Grinberg, clean water action.
Clear Water Action says the best way to protect Californians is to place a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing and other unconventional oil and gas recovery techniques. Our calls Thursday to the Western States Petroleum Association for comment on this report were not returned.