GOP Lawmaker Wants Drilling-Waste Injection Well Ban

A lawmaker has proposed a ban on drilling-waste injection wells in Pennsylvania, one of the fracking capitals of the U.S.

"A state lawmaker who fears injection wells used to dispose of waste from natural-gas drilling may trigger earthquakes and imperil Pennsylvania’s water supply wants to halt the practice until additional studies are conducted," the Sharon Herald reported.

Rep. Cris Dush of Indiana County introduced the measure at a time when evidence is mounting that injection wells are linked to earthquakes. A study by USGS scientists published last year in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America found that "the deep injection of wastewater underground is responsible for the dramatic rise in the number of earthquakes in Colorado and New Mexico since 2001," according to an announcement.

"The authors, all scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey, detail several lines of evidence directly linking the injection wells to the seismicity," it continued.

Dush, who sits on the House Commerce Committee, is a rare Republican to question the controversial drilling practice. "Dush’s idea also comes as Pennsylvania’s use of injection wells slowly picks up speed as natural-gas drilling companies seek ways to eliminate the millions of gallons of wastewater remaining after wells are fracked," the report said.

Pennsylvania is a fracking hot spot.

"Hydraulic fracturing has sparked a production boom in long-bypassed energy states such as Pennsylvania, site of the first U.S. oil well. The technique lets producers break apart the underground shale formations and free trapped oil or gas. Each job can entail millions of gallons of water mixed with sand and chemicals," Bloomberg reported.

Fracking companies say the practice is safe, arguing that it does not endanger the water supply or directly cause earthquakes.

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