| By Bob Weaver
At least three minor earthquakes in the Normamtown-Lockey area underneath a number of Marcellus drilling and fracking operations have caused widespread concern with residents of Gilmer County and the region.
The earthquakes were recorded on July 20, July 30, and August 16, with local residents reporting how the shock waves were felt at their homes and businesses.
Not only have the operators said there is no connection to their drilling and fracking, so has an official State of West Virginia scientist.
Ronald McDowell, PhD, Senior Research Geologist and Head of Geoscience Section of the
West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey says, "I do not suspect there is a connection to human activity."
The West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey is a state agency under the WV Department of Commerce.
"I believe it is highly unlikely there is any connection to drilling
activities. That conclusion applies equally for vertical and horizontal
drilling and any subsequent stimulation activity such as "fracking,"
McDowell responded to inquiries by the Hur Herald.
In some other states, quakes recorded near such drilling, fracking and the disposal storage of millions of gallons of water used in operations into old sites, have been attributed to causing quakes.
"I am going to say that drilling activity is out for
these. This is, as far as I am concerned, a reaction of the
old deep crust underneath the state of West Virginia, the stresses that have been built up for billions of years. Every once in a while those rocks let loose to relieve some of the stress."
A number of Normantown-Lockney residents disagree, expressing their concerns at a recent public meeting at Normantown regarding Marcellus drilling.
Dr. McDowell says, "This earthquake activity is the result of stresses in
the crust beneath West Virginia related to tectonic events that happened
millions of years ago. Some of this stress may be 2 billion years old or
older."
At least 10 earthquakes happened under Braxton County after drilling operators began pumping millions of gallons of water into old storage fields, the byproduct of Marcellus fracking.
See GILMER RESIDENTS VENT OVER "SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL" - Hear About Marcellus Shale Impact, Two Earthquakes In Two Weeks
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