On September 28, 2015,
the Induced Seismicity Work Group formed as part of the States First Initiative
published a study
entitled “Potential Injection-Induced Seismicity Associated with Oil & Gas
Development: A Primer on Technical and Regulatory Considerations Informing Risk
Management and Mitigation.” This Primer provides recommendations for states and
their regulatory agencies to responsibly manage and mitigate the effects of
potential induced seismicity.
The authors primarily
concentrated on earthquakes induced from disposal injection wells and opined
that “hydraulic fracturing has a far lower potential to induce ‘felt’
earthquakes than underground disposal” contrary to popular opinion.
As part of their
recommendations, they emphasized that local efforts for monitoring earthquakes
along with state seismic monitoring programs provide better risk management and
response strategies than do state efforts alone. The authors also suggested
that state regulatory agencies should establish strong external communication
and engagement toward the public as part of risk response strategies. As stated
in the Primer, “[t]he agency should document how decisions were made and for
what reasons during the event and then follow up with internal and external
audiences about what was done well and what needs to be improved.”
Written by Chloe Marie - Research Fellow
09/30/2015
No comments:
Post a Comment