Pennsylvania probes possible link between quakes, fracking

Pennsylvania environmental regulators want to determine whether a series of minor earthquakes in the state this week were caused by nearby fracking operations by an oil and gas company.

Five tiny temblors, all too weak to be felt by humans, took place in a 22-hour span in Lawrence County, about 50 miles north of Pittsburgh and three-quarters of a mile from a natural gas well owned by Houston-based Hilcorp Energy Co. No damage was reported.

Hydraulic fracking, a method to extract gas or oil from underground shale, has been tied to earthquakes in neighboring Ohio and other states, but never in Pennsylvania, the nation’s No. 2 natural gas-producing state.

The state Department of Environmental Protection is consulting with seismologists and plans to meet with Hilcorp “for them to present geologic data they have collected in the area during and prior to drilling and stimulation,” DEP spokesman Neil Shader said Friday.

He didn’t say what action DEP would take if Hilcorp is found to have caused the tremors.

“The investigation has to be completed before considering any next steps,” Shader said.

The privately held oil and natural gas producer did not return a call for comment.

Hilcorp stopped fracking the well in Mahoning Township about 12 hours after the first quake was recorded. A staffer with DEP’s oil and gas program visited the site Tuesday and verified the shutdown.

Fracking involves the injection of millions of gallons of water, along with sand and chemicals, at high pressure into a well, shattering the shale rock and freeing the gas. It has very rarely been tied to earthquakes strong enough to be felt.