Anticosti fracking could cause earthquakes, expert says

A 5.6-magnitude earthquake that shook the U.S. Midwest on Saturday is being linked to the same kind of fracking proposed for Anticosti in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Maurice Lamontagne, a seismologist with theGeological Survey of Canada,said the earthquake in and around Oklahoma was caused by fractures in the bedrock due to fracking.

He said it's something that has been happening recently in British Columbia and Albertaand could happen onAnticostiifa fracking project there goes ahead.

• Fracking triggers 90% of large quakes in B.C., Alberta oil and gas patch

The Quebec government quietlyissued drilling permits on the island to oil companyHydrocarbures Anticosti earlier this summer.

The company, which is a joint venture betweenthe Quebec government and several other oil companies, said last month it would begin preparing several sites for hydraulic fracking.

But if thefracking operation gets off the ground, and wells become widespread on the island,Lamontagne said it could become the site ofthe same type of earthquake that shookOklahoma.

"If there were an earthquake it would be extremely local," Lamontagne said. "It would be very close to the site of injection."

What triggers earthquakes in thefrackingprocess is there-injectionof waste water at four to five kilometres below the earth's surface, he said.This wastewater then goes into rock formations with faults, causing earthquakes.

Earthquakes caused by frackingaren't usually as powerful as natural earthquakes, but can also be more damaging. That's because they occur closer to the surface, and are more likely to shake a building's foundation.

"The general population doesn't think there are earthquakes in Eastern Canada. We don't want to scare people, but we do want toget them to think about it," Lamontagne said.

• HowAnticostibecame the centre of a debate over oil and gas exploration