An article on the Bloomberg.com website explains how some states are responding to the correlation between wastewater injection and shallow earthquake activity. Injection well disposal of hydraulic fracturing wastewater is declining rapidly as natural gas drilling operations are recycling more of their wastewater instead of sending it to injection wells.
The Oklahoma Geological Survey has published a “Position Statement on Triggered or Induced Seismicity” that was motivated by many people attributing recent earthquake activity to fluid injection.
“There is a credible connection between the wastewater injection activities near Youngstown and the recent earthquakes, including the magnitude 4 earthquake that occurred on New Year’s Eve, 2011. This connection is based on the close proximity of the earthquakes to the injection well and depth of injection, and the observation that these events began soon after the start of the injection activities.” Quoted from the USGS FAQ.
The Energy Information Administration forecasts that United States non-hydro renewable power generation growth over the next 25 years will be led by gains in wind and biomass.
“This methodology is designed to assess the storage resources in mappable subsurface bodies of rock into which CO2 is injected and trapped; in this methodology, these mappable subsurface bodies of rock are referred to as storage assessment units (SAUs). The total volume of pore space within a SAU can be described as the total in-place resource.” Quoted from the USGS report.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has temporarily shut down a waste injection well that is suspected to have triggered earthquakes. The state has nearly 200 other injection wells that have not been associated with seismic activity.
FoxNews.com has an article about a project that is evaluating the potential of landfill, brownfield and Superfund sites for use in renewable energy projects such as solar or wind farms.
Yucca Mountain, once designated as the permanent storage site for US nuclear waste, is available for other uses. GAO has published: “Yucca Mountain: Information on Alternative Uses of the Site and Related Challenges“
Dave Petley has posted an update with before and after photos for the recent landslide that occurred at a power plant near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The slide sent an estimated 2500 cubic yards of ash into the waters of Lake Michigan.
It is never politically popular to accept out-of-state waste and injection well owners in Ohio are taking heat because they are injecting Marcellus Shale drilling waste from Pennsylvania. An article in the Houston Chronicle explains why so much Pennsylvania wastewater is going to Ohio.
Many oil and gas companies that use hydraulic fracturing methods recycle the waste water produced during drilling. As a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in New York is lifted the Niagara Falls Water Board is ready to accept hydraulic fracturing wastewater from companies that are unable to recycle.
“New research shows that wastewater recycling processes may generate more greenhouse gases than traditional water-treatment processes. Despite this finding, there are good reasons to continue keep wastewater recycling among the water-resource tools for urban areas.” Quoted from the University of Cincinnati news release.
“Right now, we use 5 percent of our electricity to run our water infrastructure [...] We can literally pour wastewater into this fuel cell and take the energy in the wastewater and make electricity. We’re using bacteria to actually turn any organic matter and some inorganic matter directly into electricity.” Quoted from the National Science Foundation press release.
In Louisiana, a pipeline carries treated waste water from a paper mill to a natural gas field in the Haynesville Shale. The water is being recycled for hydraulic fracturing instead of being discharged into the Red River.
The House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Committee’s Budget for 2012 includes funds to continue the licensing process for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository and includes strong language regarding the decision to cancel the project.
Many landfill companies produce methane gas from their trash and some of them are using the gas to power their trash collection vehicles. Waste Management now has 1000 trucks running on landfill gas.
Hundreds of earthquakes have occurred near the communities of Greenbrier and Guy, Arkansas. The earthquakes started to occur when wastewater from Fayetteville Shale drilling operations was injected into deep rock formations and their frequency immediately declined when injection activities were halted. Now the state is considering a ban on injection wells in that area.
Scott Ausbrooks, of the Arkansas Geological Survey comments on the hundreds of small earthquakes that have been experienced near Guy and Greenbrier, Arkansas since waste water injection began at a nearby location.
“Biodegradable materials, such as disposable cups and utensils, are broken down in landfills by microorganisms that then produce methane,” [...] “Methane can be a valuable energy source when captured, but is a potent greenhouse gas when released into the atmosphere.” Quoted from the North Carolina State University new release.
Pepsi plans to discontinue use of their plastic distribution bottles made from petroleum-based materials and replace them with bottles made entirely from plant materials.
In an effort to determine the cause of the earthquake swarm near Guy, Arkansas, companies operating waste disposal wells in the area were asked to stop injection by the state oil and gas commission. Early results show a decrease in earthquake frequency and strength.
An article in The Texas Tribune explores the question: “Does natural gas drilling put radiation in water supplies?” The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality says that they have not detected radionuclides in public water supplies and the Texas Railroad Commission reports that most drilling wastewater in Texas is returned to the ground.
An article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explores water use associated with Marcellus Shale drilling. On average, the amount of water being used per well is declining and some companies are using fewer chemicals in their hydraulic fracturing water.
An article in the New York Times explains how ground water contaminated by a leaking landfill can be detected by monitoring soil bacteria instead of analyzing water for a wide range of potential contaminants.
“Storing massive amounts of carbon dioxide underground in an effort to combat global warming may not be easy to do because of the potential for triggering small to moderate earthquakes, according to Stanford geophysicist Mark Zoback.” Quoted from the Stanford University press release.
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