Northeast Ohio rocked by 11th earthquake linked to Youngstown injection wells

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By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published: January 1, 2012 - 12:00 AM

Barbara Forney’s Christmas tree was flattened on Saturday afternoon in her West Akron house.

“It was like someone pushed it down,” the 79-year-old woman said.

It had been standing by the fireplace in her living room until an earthquake tied to injection wells near Youngstown rumbled across Northeast Ohio.

The 4.0-magnitude quake was centered near Youngstown, reported the U.S. Geological Survey and the Ohio Earthquake Information Center.

The earthquake at 3:05 p.m. was felt as far away as Michigan, Ontario, Pennsylvania and New York, reported Michael C. Hansen, state geologist and coordinator of the Ohio Seismic Network, part of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Geological Survey.

The quake was “a pretty good-sized one,” he said.

There were no initial reports of injuries or major damage, he said.

The quake was the 11th over the last eight months in Mahoning County, all within two miles of the injection wells, he said. Saturday’s quake was the largest yet.

A quake on Dec. 24 measured 2.4.

There is “little doubt” that the quake is linked to injection wells that the state and the owner agreed on Friday to shut down, Hansen said.

James Zehringer, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, announced the closing of two injection wells in Youngstown Township owned by Northstar Disposal Services LLC and operated by D&L Energy Inc.

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Geologists have long suspected that injecting liquids into underground rock formations can trigger earthquakes along fault lines. The liquids allow rocks to flow more easily past each other.

Earthquakes have been linked to injection wells in Arkansas, West Virginia, Colorado and Texas.

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The state became suspicious of the injection wells after the initial quakes, which are unusual events in the Youngstown area, he said.

Earthquakes smaller than 4.0 generally do little damage. A 4.0-magnitude quake would release 40 times the energy of a 2.7 magnitude quake.

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