{ "id": "R43836", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R43836", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 587804, "date": "2016-09-30", "retrieved": "2020-01-02T15:20:30.163929", "title": "Human-Induced Earthquakes from Deep-Well Injection: A Brief Overview", "summary": "The development of unconventional oil and natural gas resources using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has created new demand for disposal wells that inject waste fluids into deep geologic formations. Deep-well injection has long been the environmentally preferred method for managing produced brine and other wastewater associated with oil and gas production. However, an increasing concern in the United States is that injection of these fluids may be responsible for increasing rates of seismic activity. The number of earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater in the central and eastern United States, where there are many injection wells, has increased dramatically since about 2009. For example, over 60 earthquakes of magnitudes 4.0 to 4.8 have occurred in central Oklahoma from 2009 to mid-year 2016. Some of these earthquakes may be felt at the surface. The largest earthquake in Oklahoma history (magnitude 5.8) occurred on September 3, 2016, near Pawnee, causing damage to several structures. Central and northern Oklahoma were seismically active regions before the recent increase in the volume of waste fluid injection. However, the sharp uptick in earthquake activity does not seem to be due to typical, random changes in the rate of seismicity, according to several studies.\nThe relationship between earthquake activity and the timing of injection, the amount and rate of waste fluid injected, and other factors are still uncertain and are current research topics. Despite increasing evidence linking some deep-well disposal activities to human-induced earthquakes, only a small fraction of the more than 30,000 U.S. wastewater disposal wells appears to be associated with damaging earthquakes. However, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deemed the increase in earthquake hazard in the central United States\u2014likely from deep-well injection\u2014sufficient to release a new one-year seismic hazard forecast for 2016 that includes contributions from both induced and natural earthquakes.\nThe potential for damaging earthquakes caused by hydraulic fracturing, as opposed to deep-well injection of wastewater from oil and gas activities, appears to be much smaller. Hydraulic fracturing intentionally creates fractures in rocks to increase the flow of oil and gas. The technique induces microseismicity, mostly of less than magnitude 1.0\u2014too small to feel or cause damage at the surface. In a few cases, however, hydraulic fracturing has led directly to earthquakes larger than magnitude 2.0, including at sites in Oklahoma, Ohio, and England. In western Canada, earthquakes greater than magnitude 3.0 have been associated with hydraulic fracturing activities, although only from a very small percentage of hydraulic fracturing wells.\nThe Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s (EPA) Underground Injection Control (UIC) program under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) regulates the subsurface injection of fluids to protect underground drinking water sources. EPA has issued regulations for six classes of injection wells, including Class II wells used for oil and gas wastewater disposal and enhanced recovery. Most oil and gas producing states administer the Class II program. Although the SDWA does not address seismicity, EPA rules for certain well classes require evaluation of seismic risk. Such requirements do not apply to Class II wells; however, EPA has developed a framework for evaluating seismic risk when reviewing Class II permit applications in states where EPA administers this program. \nAlthough only a small fraction of U.S. wastewater disposal wells appears to be problematic for causing damaging earthquakes, the potential for injection-related earthquakes has raised an array of issues and has affected oil and gas wastewater disposal in some areas. In response to induced seismicity concerns, both EPA and state work groups have issued recommendations for best practices to minimize and manage such risks. Several states have increased regulation and oversight of Class II disposal wells. Congress may be interested in oversight of EPA\u2019s UIC program or in federally sponsored research on the relationship between energy development activities and induced seismicity.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43836", "sha1": "bad37f986ede349f73700d5aa4f824a612ee5548", "filename": "files/20160930_R43836_bad37f986ede349f73700d5aa4f824a612ee5548.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43836_files&id=/4.png": "files/20160930_R43836_images_c22fc9301287bb435b23cdff4dc365efa776c34f.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43836_files&id=/1.png": "files/20160930_R43836_images_4a6bd1be3556fb4cf705c5e15217c75a6ab5f3a3.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43836_files&id=/3.png": "files/20160930_R43836_images_13d3115b8335495b6e8533835e7d2bf1920cbaba.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43836_files&id=/0.png": "files/20160930_R43836_images_5d0a4addd1167810468960e341e4304fefa940a9.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43836_files&id=/2.png": "files/20160930_R43836_images_8a6d2fda4903528607354a1dd4096cfc191f6c83.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43836", "sha1": "059711e4299e5348b81eb41b20a32f725d9d044c", "filename": "files/20160930_R43836_059711e4299e5348b81eb41b20a32f725d9d044c.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4839, "name": "Earth Sciences & Natural Hazards" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4929, "name": "Water Quality" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 441276, "date": "2015-05-12", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T19:04:58.380624", "title": "Human-Induced Earthquakes from Deep-Well Injection: A Brief Overview", "summary": "The development of unconventional oil and natural gas resources using horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing has created new demand for wastewater disposal wells that inject waste fluids into deep geologic strata. Deep-well injection has long been the environmentally preferred method for managing produced brine and other wastewater associated with oil and gas production. However, an increasing concern in the United States is that injection of these fluids may be responsible for increasing rates of seismic activity. The number of earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater in the central and eastern United States has increased dramatically since about 2009 from an average of approximately 20 per year between 1970 and 2000 to over 100 per year in the period 2010-2013. Some of these earthquakes may be felt at the surface. For example, 20 earthquakes of magnitudes 4.0 to 4.8 have occurred in central Oklahoma since 2009. The largest earthquake in Oklahoma history (magnitude 5.6) occurred on November 5, 2011, near Prague, causing damage to several structures nearby. Central and northern Oklahoma were seismically active regions before the recent increase in the volume of waste fluid injection through deep wells. However, the recent earthquake swarm does not seem to be due to typical, random changes in the rate of seismicity, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.\nThe relationship between earthquake activity and the timing of injection, the amount and rate of waste fluid injected, and other factors are still uncertain and are current research topics. Despite increasing evidence linking some deep-well disposal activities with human-induced earthquakes, only a small fraction of the more than 30,000 U.S. wastewater disposal wells appears to be associated with damaging earthquakes. \nThe potential for damaging earthquakes caused by hydraulic fracturing, as opposed to deep-well injection of wastewater from oil and gas activities, appears to be much smaller. Hydraulic fracturing intentionally creates fractures in rocks and induces microseismicity, mostly of less than magnitude 1.0\u2014too small to feel or cause damage. In a few cases, however, hydraulic fracturing has led directly to earthquakes larger than magnitude 2.0, including at sites in Oklahoma, Ohio, England, and Canada.\nThe Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s (EPA) Underground Injection Control (UIC) program under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) regulates the subsurface injection of fluids to protect underground drinking water sources. EPA has issued regulations for six classes of injection wells, including Class II wells used for oil and gas wastewater disposal and enhanced recovery. Most oil and gas states administer the Class II program. Although the SDWA does not address seismicity, EPA rules for certain well classes require evaluation of seismic risk. Such requirements do not apply to Class II wells; however, EPA has developed a framework for evaluating seismic risk when reviewing Class II permit applications in states where EPA administers this program. \nIn 2011, in response to seismic events thought to be associated with wastewater disposal wells, EPA authorized a national technical work group to develop technical recommendations to address the risk of Class II disposal-induced seismicity. In February 2015, EPA issued a document outlining best practices for minimizing and managing such risks. How Congress shapes EPA or other agency efforts to address human-caused earthquakes may be an issue in the 114th Congress. \nAt the state level, several states have increased regulation and oversight of Class II disposal wells in response to induced seismicity concerns. In 2014, state oil and gas and groundwater protection agencies established a multi-state work group on injection wells and induced seismicity.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43836", "sha1": "a40a935029eb943f4d381ad1410b7a2873f73294", "filename": "files/20150512_R43836_a40a935029eb943f4d381ad1410b7a2873f73294.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43836", "sha1": "7cbca4ace735b3643f2d7c9450124f2319bc65ad", "filename": "files/20150512_R43836_7cbca4ace735b3643f2d7c9450124f2319bc65ad.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 2647, "name": "Water Quality Protection" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc627195/", "id": "R43836_2015Jan08", "date": "2015-01-08", "retrieved": "2015-06-15T14:46:40", "title": "Human-Induced Earthquakes from Deep-Well Injection: A Brief Overview", "summary": "This report reviews the current scientific understanding of induced seismicity, primarily in the context of Class II oil and gas wastewater disposal wells. The report also outlines the regulatory framework for these injection wells, and identifies several federal and state initiatives responding to recent events of induced seismicity associated with Class II disposal.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20150108_R43836_b124dd8484276cf4610fec6efb52dd3fec65ec03.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20150108_R43836_b124dd8484276cf4610fec6efb52dd3fec65ec03.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Earthquakes", "name": "Earthquakes" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Oil industries", "name": "Oil industries" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Oil well drilling", "name": "Oil well drilling" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Oil fields", "name": "Oil fields" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc501546/", "id": "R43836_2014Dec22", "date": "2014-12-22", "retrieved": "2015-03-30T22:03:27", "title": "Human-Induced Earthquakes from Deep-Well Injection: A Brief Overview", "summary": "This report provides an overview of current scientific understanding of induced seismicity in the United States. The report discusses hydraulic fracturing and the potential for damaging earthquakes caused by hydraulic fracturing itself.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20141222_R43836_a76631f9ab48dc0ad40e5e5e4b368dd4fc076ca3.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20141222_R43836_a76631f9ab48dc0ad40e5e5e4b368dd4fc076ca3.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Earthquakes", "name": "Earthquakes" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Oil industries", "name": "Oil industries" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Oil well drilling", "name": "Oil well drilling" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Oil fields", "name": "Oil fields" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Petroleum engineering", "name": "Petroleum engineering" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Energy Policy", "Environmental Policy" ] }