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…
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