Based on the two articles; The Danger of Digging Deeper (New York Times), and Earthquakes in Arkansas May be Man-Made Experts Warn (Fox News), it's clear that there is a connection between drilling - or drilling-related activities - and earthquakes in surrounding areas. Be it geothermal wells in California, or the underground injection of drilling wastewater in central Arkansas, these practices result in earthquakes in fault-ridden areas.
Two obvious questions arise from these experiences. First of all, how predictable are drilling-related earthquakes? Can we predict the size, frequency, location of upcoming quakes? It seems that what we presently call earthquake prediction is hypothesis based on patterns of previous earthquakes. Can we improve our ability to predict and choose places to drill that are safer? Secondly, there is the matter of method. In the case of injecting drilling wastewater underground, can we come up with an alternative to injection wells? Is there a pattern to injection wells and geothermal drilling that DON"T generate eartbquake activity?
It would seem that the elimination of earthquake risk is not feasible with the present technology; in which case, we would need to resort to formulas for location and method that constitute acceptable risks for the communities located nearby. The formulas themselves would have to have federal sanction in order to ensure that one state does not impinge on the safety of another state with inferior drilling regulation. Another aspect would be that the drilling companies, possessed of a federally-sanctioned formula for drilling, might be more restricted in some regards, but actually reduced in liability.
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