Anticosti fracking could cause earthquakes, expert says, U.S. Midwest, Alberta, British Columbia enduring earthquakes due to ‘human activity’ by Elysha Enos, September 5, 2016, CBC News
A 5.6-magnitude earthquake that shook the U.S. Midwest on Saturday is being linked to the same kind of fracking proposed for Anticosti in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Maurice Lamontagne, a seismologist with the Geological Survey of Canada, said the earthquake in and around Oklahoma was caused by fractures in the bedrock due to fracking.
He said it’s something that has been happening recently in British Columbia and Alberta and could happen on Anticosti if a fracking project there goes ahead.
Fracking triggers 90% of large quakes in B.C., Alberta oil and gas patch
The Quebec government quietly issued drilling permits on the island to oil company Hydrocarbures Anticosti earlier this summer.
The company, which is a joint venture between the Quebec government and several other oil companies, said last month it would begin preparing several sites for hydraulic fracking.
But if the fracking operation gets off the ground, and wells become widespread on the island, Lamontagne said it could become the site of the same type of earthquake that shook Oklahoma.
“If there were an earthquake it would be extremely local,” Lamontagne said. “It would be very close to the site of injection.”
[Reality Check:
Another 5.6M Earthquake Hits Frac Ravaged Oklahoma; State Of Emergency Declared for Pawnee County. 58,628 people felt the quake, as far as 2,323 km away ]
What triggers earthquakes in the fracking process is the re-injection of waste water at four to five kilometres below the earth’s surface, he said. This wastewater then goes into rock formations with faults [or creating new fault], causing earthquakes.
Earthquakes caused by fracking aren’t usually as powerful as natural earthquakes, but can also be more damaging. That’s because they occur closer to the surface, and are more likely to shake a building’s foundation.
“The general population doesn’t think there are earthquakes in Eastern Canada. We don’t want to scare people, but we do want to get them to think about it,” Lamontagne said. [Emphasis added]
[Refer also to:
2016 09 03: Another 5.6M Earthquake Hits Frac Ravaged Oklahoma: Mitigation Obviously Not Working! Quakes Increasing, No Matter How Many Injection Wells Shut Down or Injection Volumes Reduced. State Of Emergency Declared for Pawnee County. 58,628 people felt the quake, as far as 2,323 km away in Boston, MA
Anticosti mayor applying for UNESCO heritage designation. Court orders Quebec to continue financing Petrolia’s Anticosti fracking operations, Orders monthly payments to Petrolia must continue to prevent job losses
Quebec’s Anticosti Island: Will it get frac’d? Dreamers come and go, but it remains an enigma for developers
That’s some frac moratorium Quebec! Ottawa (DFO has jurisdiction) not consulted on Anticosti fracking plan to use water from endangered salmon rivers, frac waste will be dumped into Gulf of St. Lawrence
“A New Step Forward!” Quebec introduces draconian oil & gas bill to give companies more rights than property owners, Days later authorizes Petrolia Inc to frack Anticosti: “This resounding success on the regulatory front is essentially due to the work of Petrolia, accompanied by the experts at SNC-Lavalin….”
Corridor’s exploration on Anticosti Island will use fracking
Quebec announces extensive studies to assess oil and gas potential, St. Lawrence Lowlands, Anticosti Island subjects of fracking probes
Government of Quebec partnering with the oil and gas industry to hunt for oil on Anticosti Island puts taxpayers at risk, Marois strikes $115M deal
Anatomy of a Frack Ban: Canada Says Quebec’s No Drilling Law Is Fair In lone Pine’s $250 Million NAFTA Suit
Borrowed Dreams? Promises of regulations led Gaspé to drop lawsuit with Petrolia. Junex dares to dream of oil in Québec; penny stock soared 209% recently, lifted shares of peers Petrolia and Petrolympcs while $200 Billion debt looms over USA oil and gas
Quebec’s Premier Declares Province-wide Shale Gas Ban after Environmental Review Board (BAPE) says Fracking Not Worth The Risk, “Too many negative consequences to the environment and society…risks to air and water quality…noise and light pollution”
Government finds methane in drinking water wells in Gaspé, water wells are within 2 km of Pétrolia’s oil wells, one of them reported in 2012 to be leaking methane ]
