OH Injection Well that Caused OH Earthquakes Shutting Down Forever

In late December 2011 a 4.0 earthquake hit the Youngstown, OH area. It was the latest in a string of quakes that began in March 2011, shortly after a wasterwater injection well went online--the Northstar #1 well. In March 2012 the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) made a determination that indeed, it was the Northstar well that caused the quake--due to its location over an active fault (see ODNR Finds Youngstown Injection Well Caused Earthquakes). When you force liquid of any kind deep into the ground and into a fault (gigantic crack running through the rock layers), that liquid acts like grease allowing the rock layers to slip and slide, causing an earthquake. It's a rare occurrence, at least in Ohio. Without recounting the entire sordid story, ownership of Northstar #1--originally owned by D&L Energy, whose owner was found guilty of illegal wastewater dumping unrelated to the injection well--the current owner has filed an application to permanently, and for all time, plug and close Northstar #1...

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