Is there any fracking in the Virginia quake area?

[LiberalEsto]

A 5.9 magnitude quake is not exactly a common event here.
I'm in Maryland, and I've never felt a quake before.

Is there any way to find out if there is hydraulic fracking in the area where the quake originated?

[ananda]

1. I was asking myself the same thing.

nt

[jwirr]

11. I asked in a different post. Arkansas stopped fracking due to this. nt

[RockaFowler]

2. Good question

[FSogol]

3. There was a small earthquake in the No. VA area last July. n/t

[villager]

4. good question...

n/t

[CleanGreenFuture]

5. Earthquake was caused here in TX by fracking. So, if they're in that area, then

it is entirely possible it was triggered by fracking.

In a way, I hope it was because that would really put some attention on fracking and how it needs to STOP!

[Hubert Flottz]

13. Same here in West Virginia.

Freakin' Frackers!

[uppityperson]

6. What about mining, miners? Ed to add that am concerned about them

if they are underground and a quake hits.

[Hubert Flottz]

14. If they're working for Massey they prolly think it's normal.

[indurancevile]

7. interesting question. here's something:

http://irjci.blogspot.com/2011/02/fracking-debate-moves-into-maryland-and.html

[jwirr]

12. This article is talking about fracking in the area. So it could be that. nt

[louis-t]

8. Great question.

Would not surprise me.

[ncchapelhill]

9. fracking virginia

I believe that hydro fracking has been approved for Rockingham county in VA (NW of Mineral, VA - epicenter). However, I'm not certain that the process has begun.

[Snexas]

10. Morgantown, VA fracking dispute

So apparently there is fracking taking place about an hour or so North from where the earthquake originated. So it sounds possible that it might be related.

http://marcellusdrilling.com/2011/08/judge-overturns-morgantown-wv-fracking-ban/

http://www.marcellusprotest.org/northeast-energy-sues-morgantown

[Lyric]

15. That's Morgantown WEST Virginia.

Different state. I live there. We felt the quake here, and that's the first thing that came to mind.

[Hubert Flottz]

16. Felt it here near Charleston too.

I thought it was Bayer Crop Science, Dow Chemical or Dupont exploding.

[Snexas]

21. Morgantown West Virginia

Sorry, I Googled Virginia and fracking and then mapped from Morgantown to the earthquake location. I didn't notice the article that came up was for West Virginia.

[LUCYMO]

17. Goodlatte May Have To Eat His Own Words(Virginia Earthquake)

If today's earthquake in Mineral,Virginia has anything to do with "fracking", then Representative Bob Goodlatte (from district 6,just 80 miles from the epicenter) needs to eat his words! Goodlatte stated in a January 31,2011 article that "there is NO conclusive evidence that extracting natural gas thousands of feet from the top layers of soil is harmful to the environment." He was talking specifically about hydro-fracking. The article says that Goodlatte stands to gain a sweet deal from the energy company who stands to benefit from the hydrolic-fracking license. The proposal to drill the shale is in Rockingham County, 80 miles from the epicenter. I don't know if the drilling had ever been approved or begun. Here is the website>>>examiner.com/progressive-in-richmond/rep-bob-goodlatte-claims-that-hydro-fracking-is-not-harmful-to-the-environment

[drawingATTN]

18. Fracking Charleston

Here's a map of the epicenter:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Maps/10/280_40.php

It's not far from Charleston where there's Fracking underway:

http://blogs.wvgazette.com/watchdog/2011/08/23/tomblins-gas-drilling-rules-almost-nothing-for-landowners-only-baby-steps-for-the-environment/

http://sundaygazettemail.com/News/201108221527

[Brickbat]

19. Sometimes an earthquake is just an earthquake.

[ileus]

20. no no...it's an earthquake machine. No HAARP that's it.

[Snexas]

22. True, but...

Very true, but it seems strange that the earth quakes that have happened in the area are usually much, much smaller. A big one could happen naturally though.

[Brickbat]

28. Not only "could" it happen, but it did!

SCIENCE!

[makokun]

27. Haven't you guys heard?

Halliburton got a no-bid contract to supply the gov't with earthquakes.

ROFLMAO

[theHandpuppet]

23. I don't think it's a mining area

I often used to drive through Mineral and the surrounding area. Rural farming area but no mining that I know of. There's a nuke plant nearby, though!

[starroute]

25. There was gold and iron mining -- that's why it's called "Mineral"

No mention of coal mines, though.

http://townofmineral.com/

Mineral was originally known as Tolersville, but adopted its current name when it incorporated in 1902 as a result of the mining industry that supported the community. It was the center of gold mining activity in Louisa County and during its heyday there were no fewer than fifteen gold mines located within two miles of the town. A zinc and lead mine also operated in the area into the 1970s. The C&O Depot still stands at the intersection of 1st street and 522 in Mineral.

[LiberalEsto]

31. A number of abandoned mines in the area

I checked on the Virginia Department of Mining and Minerals web site.
There are about a dozen abandoned gold, silver, iron and pyrite mines in the area around Mineral and Louise, VA. But I didn't see anything that's currently operating in the immediate area.

[FBaggins]

24. Not really.

The shale plays are mostly west of the Appalacian mountains.

But if you do want to come up with theories that blame mankind rather than M. Nature, the nuclear plant that sits close to the epicenter is on a manmade lake created for it. Protests/lawsuits in the 70s claimed that manmade reservoirs could cause earthquakes.

[makokun]

26. This may be the funniest thing I've ever read...

A magnitude 5.9 quake is pretty strong to attribute to any man-made activity. That's science fiction territory. I hope you were kidding.

[elehhhhna]

32. you'll get flamed for saying so but i think you're right.

[Yo_Mama]

33. Relax and enjoy the megalomania

Let's just say that if our awesome fracking powers can cause quakes this large, we own the world! Bwahahahahahahaaaaa. (Mad scientist laughter)

[Curmudgeoness]

34. Sure, and Rush Limbaugh says man cannot affect nature......

but he seems to forget about what we can do when we learned how to split the atom. And that was only attributable to a man-made activity. What are your credentials for pooh-poohing this?

BTW, welcome to DU. But please stop sounding like Rush. It is unbecoming, and having a closed mind to possibilities that are a concern to others isn't going to make many friends.

[Dreamer Tatum]

29. On a related note, I just peed in the Pacific. Watch out for a tsunami, Hawaii. nt

[woo me with science]

30. Sure.

People around there have lots of kids.