Increased earthquake activity could force Oklahoma to reduce underground gas-and-oil waste disposal
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.029638
New York Times : In the wake of three January earthquakes that were among Oklahoma’s largest ever, the state’s Corporation Commission is asking the gas and oil industry to cut back on the underground disposal of liquid waste. That disposal is associated with the huge spike in earthquake activity that has occurred since 2010. Until the three recent quakes, which struck an affluent suburb of Oklahoma City, state politicians had been reluctant to take action against one of the state’s largest industries. The commission has now requested that well operators in two regions of the state—a Connecticut-size area of central Oklahoma and a similar-size area of northwest Oklahoma—cut their waste disposal by 40%. The state is also working to improve its earthquake monitoring network.
