Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2021/01/28/this-familys-house-has-been-constantly-vibrating-for-weeks.html
5 Likes
Sounds kindâa kinky.
6 Likes
could cause damage of soil that isnât compacted properly.
How does one âdamageâ soil? Iâd imagine the âworstâ you could do would be to actually compact it.
The phrase you are looking for is âliquifactionâ, (link) and itâs what sinkholes are made from.
22 Likes
Er, sink holes are from underground water eroding the limestone or other rock so much until the earth on top of it falls through.
1 Like
If it is just up for another week, why not restrict drilling to waking hours, and just have it up a little longer. Family sleep, they get the oil, it is temporary and goes down in a few weeks.
3 Likes
EOG probably has permits + contracts for staff and equipment that only last for that extra week, and were written and contracted per the regulations at the time.
To change the working hours and extend it another week would probably go over budget, and they probably donât want to eat that overage, when according to the law, they are doing nothing wrong.
A sensible regulation for the future would be âif drilling within 2000 feet of a residence, equipment can only be operating from 6:30am till 10pm, and/or compensate residences for alternate temporary accomodationsâ It sucks for folks working the night shift, and who sleep during the day. Once you start slinging the regulation-word around though, politicians get twitchy.
13 Likes
Letâs seeâŚ
Oklahoma - check
white suburban male - check
supports fossil fuel extraction - check
most likely a GOP voter - check
NIMBY - check, check
16 Likes
âThey have a right to drill, we have a right to be able to sleep.
⌠the seismograph proves theyâre operating within regulations.â
Sounds to me like the regulations donât support his worldview. 
3 Likes
Well that is a good answer. Thanks.
At least theyâre not wasting quarters on Magic Fingers.
2 Likes
Regulations are for communists, or socialists, or some other -istsâŚdefinitely not for red blooded american capitalists.
1 Like
Answer the phone.
1 Like
Everything in your house is a vibrator for a week.
3 Likes
Settlement, particularly differential settlement would be the concern, where the soil compacts due to the vibrations, potentially tilting the structure or cracking a foundation or causing other structural damage. Vibration and settlement monitoring is common on construction and demolition projects to avoid or mitigate such damage.
11 Likes
Beyond the soil settling Iâd be concerned with fasteners in the house (nails, screws, staples, wire splices) working loose from the vibration. Home stuff isnât designed to withstand vibration like that over a long period. He might notice his doors no longer being completely square in the frame for example. He might find an electrical circuit that suddenly stops working.
But overall this feels like a âbut it shouldnât be happening to ME, Iâm one of the good guysâ type response.
7 Likes
The good news is theyâre safe from windmill cancer.
3 Likes
I have to say, I lost all sympathy for him when he said that. Fundamentally I find, âI just want them to be bothering someone else while they destroy the planetâ to not be a very sympathetic position, I guess.
3 Likes
I remember a CSI episode where a lady was killed when her house, constructed near an air base, collapsed on her. They started with the premise that the builder was at fault, but noticed that her house was vibrated daily by multiple jet takeoffs and near passes; the approach and takeoff patterns had changed when they built a new runway. The fasteners eventually shook so much they loosened, the joints failed, and crunch!
1 Like
âThey have the right to get the oil, I want the oil to come from Oklahoma, itâs great for the economy, itâs great for Oklahoma,â Starks said. âAt the same point we have some rights to be able to sleep in our house and then we have to find that balance.â
Sorry, Starks. Freedom isnât free; if we donât drill your land, Iran and Venezuela Socialism take over. We are sacrificing you on the altar of Gilded Age capitalism and the glorious petroleum industry. This is The Lottery and you are It. You know if it was happening to Someone Else, you would be pitiless and merciless, so suck it up and take one for the team.
1 Like
