Can Fracking Damage Your Home?

By S.E. Slack

There's been a lot of talk about fracking lately, particularly in the West where bans have been enacted by anxious communities concerned that their homes are at risk from the practice. But what is fracking? And can it really damage a home?

According to real estate marketplace Zillow, fracking is the nickname for hydraulic fracturing, which involves horizontal drilling to access hydrocarbon-bearing shale formations located thousands of feet beneath the Earth's surface. This technology injects fluids into the earth (usually water, sand and chemicals) at high pressure to break apart rock and release natural gas.

It's a practice that's been occurring for about 50 years, but the recent discovery of shale formations in South Dakota and the Northeast have brought it to the forefront of the ongoing national debate about the use of natural energies.

Homeowners typically fall into one of three categories. They are directly impacted by fracking because they own the mineral rights to the land beneath their home, they are not directly impacted because they do not own any mineral rights or they are indirectly impacted by the potential for far-reaching effects, such as potential earthquakes or land shifts that cause physical damage to their home.

Homeowners with mineral rights could potentially sign contracts to allow fracking on their property and realize monetary profits as a result. Homeowners without those rights can typically do nothing if the owner of the mineral rights allows fracking beneath their home. That's the case in many places where states own all mineral rights.

As for potential damage by fracking operations miles away from a home, the jury is still out. Some geologists argue that the 2011 5.6 earthquake in Prague, Oklahoma was the result of wastewater injection from oil and natural gas operations. That is the largest earthquake ever recorded in Oklahoma.

A U.S. Geological Survey study also determined that other minor earthquakes in Oklahoma are very likely the result of fracking. Multiple homes in the state have experienced cracks in walls and foundations as a result of these earthquakes, which are not covered by insurance without a policy separate from a traditional homeowners policy.

In Ohio, title deeds will confirm who owns the rights to the minerals on any given piece of property. It might be worth your time to determine who is in charge of fracking under your home.