Arkansas Frackquake Victims Commiserate With Oklahomans As Fracking Wastewater Injection Continues, Risking Deadly Earthquakes

Julie-Dermansky-022
on

There is a general consensus in Oklahoma that the record-breaking number of earthquakes occurring in the state are caused by the disposalย ofย fracking wastewater in injection wells. Butย thereโ€™s no agreement onย what to do to stopย them.

โ€œWe are humanย guineaย pigsย in a fracking industry experiment,โ€ Angela Spotts, founder ofย Stop Fracking Payne Countyย and a Stillwater, Oklahoma homeowner,ย told DeSmog. โ€œRegulators tell us they can get the earthquakes under control as they tinker with the quantity that wastewater wells are allowed to inject intoย the ground. But despite their efforts, the quakes haveย continued.โ€ย 

Spottsโ€™ group has called for a moratorium on injection wells that dispose of fracking wastewater. โ€œShutting the wells down stopped the earthquakes that hit Arkansas. That is what we need to do here too,โ€ Spottsย said.ย 


Angela Spotts at the earthquake hearing in the State Capitol. ยฉ2016 Julieย Dermansky

Matt Skinner, spokesman forย theย Oklahoma Corporation Commissionย (OCC), the agency that regulates the stateโ€™s oil and gas industry, conceded that, โ€œin a perfect world, shutting down all the wells in โ€˜the area of concern,โ€™ if done gradually, would be ideal.โ€ But he told DeSmog that is not possible because of โ€œprivate propertyย rights.โ€ย 

He is hopeful the OCCโ€™sย latest regulatory measures calling for operators to cut back the volume of wastewater they inject will stop the seismic activity. And now that a deal has been a struckย withย SandRidge Energy, the only company that refusedย to comply with the agencyโ€™s directive,ย he thinks the earthquakes couldย abate.

Though one of SandRidgeโ€™s wells will be operated for research purposes under the OCCโ€™s deal, Skinner said he doesnโ€™t see Oklahomansย asย guineaย pigs.

โ€œWhat the agency is doing with SandRidge Energy isnโ€™t anย experimentโ€” it is research,โ€ heย insists.

But Emily Lane, a resident ofย Greenbrier,ย Arkansas, and co-director of a documentary about earthquakes in Arkansas, described her communityย as โ€œhuman guineaย pigs,โ€ when it was in the middle of a seismic storm inย 2010.ย 

In her documentary, โ€œLand of Opportunity,โ€ she and her brother read from transcripts of a permit hearing for a wastewater injection well obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request.ย  At the hearing, Arkansasย regulators acknowledged seismic activity could be an outcome of permitting injection wells, but they authorized the permitย anyway.ย 


Emily Lane in front of a compressor station in Faulkner County, Arkansas where she conductedย multipleย air testsย forย a nationwide study on air pollution at fracking industry sties. ยฉ2014 Julie Dermansky forย Ocean 8ย Filmsย 


Dirk DeTurckย with a map of Faulkner County, Arkansas that illustrates the earthquake swarm. ยฉ2014 Julie Dermansky for Ocean 8ย Filmsย 

Dirk DeTurck, an Arkansas resident who experienced the Guy-Greenbrier earthquake swarm,ย commiseratesย with Oklahomans.ย โ€œI feel their pain,โ€ he toldย DeSmog.

He wants Oklahomans who are considering joining a class action lawsuit to know that no one wins anything but theย lawyers.

โ€œPeople didnโ€™t realize that signing up could mean losing their freedom of speech once a settlement is reached,โ€ DeTurk said. โ€œThe settlement in Greenbrier required people to sign a nondisclosure agreement. By the time they realized how little money they would get, they wished they hadnโ€™tย participated.โ€

For DeTurck, following the news in Oklahoma is like dรฉjร  vu. โ€œIt doesn’t take a rocketย scientist to figure out what is causing the quakes or what you have to do to stop them,โ€ heย said.ย 

It took a 4.7 magnitude earthquakeย that shookย Greenbrier in 2011ย to convinceย regulatorsย toย shut down the areaโ€™s wells. โ€œSince then, the fracking wastewater has been trucked to Oklahoma.ย I see trucks that are hauling wastewater heading west on Interstate 40 for the state line all the time,โ€ said DeTurck.ย ย 

Skinner admits the OCC does not know exactly how much wastewater is coming into Oklahoma from Arkansas and other states. Butย he doesnโ€™t think it is very much.ย The agency canโ€™t track how much is delivered to private wells, but can obtain the records of what is received at commercialย ones.

Edย Henshaw, an Oklahoma resident who lives near the Arkansas state line, doesnโ€™t agree.ย During a hearing on earthquakes at the state capitol on January 15, he said heย sees semi-truck after semi-truck hauling wastewater from Aransas on Interstate 40 across the state line intoย Oklahoma.

Enid News coverage cites Oklahoma Corporation Commission reports that the state receives wastewater from Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado andย Arkansas.


Wastewater injection well site in Perkins, Oklahoma. ยฉ2016 Julieย Dermansky

Even if the OCC wanted to stop waste coming in from other states, it couldn’t, Skinner explained to DeSmog, because of interstate commerce rules. The only thing theย agency can do is ask Oklahoma companies to voluntarily comply with directives limiting the volume of the fracking wastewater beingย injected.

After the U.S. Geological Survey predicted a 5.5 magnitude earthquake was probable, Ariel Ross, a professor of English at Oklahoma State University (OSU), began to pay more attention to theย earthquakes.

Andย everย sinceย formerย Oklahoma State seismologist Austin Holland,ย who left his post in July 2015, said a 7.0 magnitude was possible, not a day goes by that theย earthquakes aren’t on Rossโ€™sย mind.ย 

VIDEO:ย Ariel Ross on her sonโ€™s experience with drills atย school.

When the epicenter of one of the earthquakes was a half-mile from her sonโ€™s school, Ross started to worry about the schoolโ€™s structural integrity, and whether the kids had earthquakeย drills.

As far as she knows, no one has checked the schoolโ€™s structural stability, and though they have active shooter drills and tornado drills, โ€œearthquake drills have been deemed too scary, so they arenโ€™t done at all,โ€ย sheย said.ย 

School administratorsโ€™ refusal to face the possibility of a big quake alarmed her, but she admitted she doesn’t have an emergency plan if the โ€œbig oneโ€ hits,ย either.ย 

Rep. Mike Shelton introduced legislation that would requireย earthquake drills at schools, but it was voted down. He is trying again in theย comingย session.ย 

Ross keeps a bowl in her kitchen with pieces of brick that have popped off the walls of the apartment she rents in downtown Stillwater. She doubts that many buildings have had their structuralย integrity checked since the seismic activity began, including the one she livesย in.

She is right.ย The Oklahoman reported on January 24:

โ€œTwo years ago, Oklahoma set out to survey its most earthquake-vulnerable buildings. Today, state officials are no closer to knowing which of hundreds of public structures would be most likely to collapse during a severeย temblor.โ€


Priestย Brad Wilson next to a newly discovered crack in the library at St. Francis of the Woods. ยฉ2016 Julie Dermansky ย ย ย 


Crack in the library atย St. Francis of the Woods. ยฉ2016 Julie Dermansky ย ย ย 

At St. Francis of the Woods, anย ecumenical spiritualย retreat center in Coyle, Oklahoma, Priest Brad Wilson gave DeSmog a tour,ย pointing out theย earthquakeย damage. Heย foundย problemsย heย hadn’tย previouslyย noticed.

โ€œI guess Iโ€™m in denial about theย possible danger,โ€ Wilson said.ย โ€œMaybe it is time to get a structuralย engineerย here.โ€ย 

Retired AT&T employee Markย Crimson has a seismometer suppliedย byย Oklahoma State University on his land. He hooked it up to hisย computer so he canย watch the quakes in real time. OSU students choseย Crimsonโ€™s land for their study because he lives directly above a faultย line.

โ€œThe OCC is gambling with everybody’s lives,โ€ Crimson toldย DeSmog.

He doesnโ€™t think the OCC‘s regulatory measures will be enough to stop the seismicย storm.

VIDEO:ย Markย Crimson discusses the possible impacts of a 7.0 earthquake inย Stillwater.


One of many cracks onย Mark Crimsonโ€™s house. ยฉ2016 Julieย Dermansky

ย โ€œWhen the USGS comes out with a new earthquake hazard map, it is going to change everything,โ€ Crimson said. The promised map is overdue. โ€œNo one is going to want to insure the housesย here once it comesย out.โ€

Spotts is starting to think the only way to protect yourself is to leave the state. When her group first pushed for a moratorium in 2014, the state passed a law making localย moratoriums illegal.ย 

Twoย recent public meetings addressing the earthquakes came after the deadline for politicians to submit new legislation for the next session. โ€œNow the only hope to get a moratorium is if emergency legislation Rep. Morrissette plans to introduce calls for a moratorium on saltwater injection wells and if it passes,โ€ Spottsย said.ย 

Crimson says if a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hits, it could take out 200 miles of the stateโ€™s infrastructure. He doesnโ€™t expect to survive such a quake, and will go down with his house. โ€œOnly the survivors will suffer,โ€ heย said.ย 


Phillips 66ย oil drilling derrick with petroleum tanks in the parking lot at the Capitol Building in Oklahoma City. ยฉ2016 Julieย Dermanskyย 

Julie-Dermansky-022
Julie Dermansky is a multimedia reporter and artist based in New Orleans. She is an affiliate scholar at Rutgers Universityโ€™s Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights. Visit her website at www.jsdart.com.

Related Posts

on

The new leader of the opposition has regularly criticised the UKโ€™s green ambitions.

The new leader of the opposition has regularly criticised the UKโ€™s green ambitions.
on

Lucy von Sturmer and Duncan Meisel are building communities of creatives dedicated to preventing the advertising and public relations industry from casting polluters as climate saviours.

Lucy von Sturmer and Duncan Meisel are building communities of creatives dedicated to preventing the advertising and public relations industry from casting polluters as climate saviours.
Opinion
on

It's time to come together to collectively work through the anxiety, grief and overwhelm so many of us are experiencing.

It's time to come together to collectively work through the anxiety, grief and overwhelm so many of us are experiencing.
on

UCP pledges to abandon the provinceโ€™s net zero targets, and remove the designation of CO2 as a pollutant.

UCP pledges to abandon the provinceโ€™s net zero targets, and remove the designation of CO2 as a pollutant.