Geoscience Policy Monthly Review
march 2014
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natural hazards
USGS attributes Oklahoma earthquakes to induced seismicity
On March 7, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Journal of Geophysical Research published a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) sponsored study on the relationship between a November 2011 magnitude-5.0 earthquake and successive aftershocks along the Wilzetta fault in Oklahoma, including a magnitude-5.7 earthquake, the largest ever recorded in the state.
The study builds on a 2013 report published in Geology that links the magnitude-5.0 foreshock to fluid injection associated with oil and gas drilling. The recent USGS study concludes the magnitude-5.7 earthquake is the largest induced seismic event on record.
Low-magnitude earthquake frequency has increased in gas drilling states since 2010 and is considered to be linked to wastewater injection associated with oil and gas drilling.
The results of the study were announced on a USGS blog in January, before official publication by AGU.
Sources: E&E News; Geology; United States Geological Survey; Wiley Online Library
Congress passes bill to abolish BW-12 provisions
This month the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (H.R. 3370) passed the U.S. House of Representatives 306-91 and the Senate 72-22. H.R. 3370 abolishes certain provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (BW-12).
Insurance rates increased under BW-12 in an effort to more accurately reflect risk in flood prone areas. Reassessment was based on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) updates to flood hazard mapping. FEMA’s area specific Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) synthesize coastal and fluvial hydrologic analyses with precipitation data and topographic surveys across the U.S.
H.R. 3370 requires a Technical Mapping Advisory Council to review and report to Congress upon implementation of a flood mapping program
Proponents of the bill argue that BW-12 rate increases would adversely impact too many individuals living in newly designated flood prone areas. H.R. 3370 restores subsidized flood insurance rates for grandfathered properties enrolled in the NFIP and offsets revenue losses from BW-12 provisions by adding an annual surcharge to all flood insurance policyholders.
Sources: E&E News; Federal Emergency Management Agency; the Government Printing Office; USA Today
House discusses earthquake science on 50th anniversary of the Great Alaska Earthquake
On March 27, the House Natural Resources Committee’s Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee held an oversight hearing titled “Advances in Earthquake Science: 50th Anniversary of the Great Alaskan Quake.”
The witnesses, representing the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Seismological Society of America (SSA), and academia, spoke of the importance of investing in early warning systems and reauthorizing the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). They explained that although great advances have occurred in seismology since the Alaskan earthquake, including the maturation of the theory of plate tectonics and the implementation of earthquake-resilient building standards, scientists have a lot to learn about earthquakes and how to predict them. University of Washington Professor Dr. John Vidale pointed out that “we don’t understand subduction zone earthquakes very well,” as evidenced by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan that occurred in an area that scientists thought was not loaded for such an event.
When asked why other countries like Japan and Mexico have invested in early warning systems and the U.S. has not, USGS Senior Science Advisor for Earthquake and Geologic Hazards Dr. William Leith explained that those investments often occur in the wake of large, damaging earthquakes. He continued, saying “there seems to need to be a national political will in order to make the investment” in early warning systems and other technologies.
Representatives Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Peter DeFazio (D-OR) expressed their concern about human-induced seismic events, specifically earthquakes caused by the injection of wastewater produced from oil and gas extraction activities. When asked what information would help USGS better study these events, Dr. Leith responded that scientists need specific data on the exact times that injections occurred, as well as the volume and pressure of the injections. Currently, oil and gas companies need only provide monthly volume totals and average pressure reports at the end of each year.
Source: House Committee on Natural Resources