wastewater disposal wells News

Targeting Earthquakes, Oklahoma Limiting Wastewater Well Volumes

Oklahoma oil and natural gas regulators have instructed the operators of 23 wastewater disposal wells to reduce their disposal volumes due to recent earthquakes in Garfield County. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission issued the directive in response to earthquake activity around …

Fracking Earthquakes Pop Up in Unexpected Corner of Oklahoma’s Shale Patch

The oil prospectors of Oklahoma, it appeared, finally had a solution to their earthquake problem. Ordered by regulators to curb the wastewater they were dumping deep into the ground, they watched with satisfaction as tremors plunged to fewer than two …

2 New Earthquakes Recorded near Oklahoma Oil Hub

Two earthquakes recorded within one minute of each other have shaken an area in north-central Oklahoma near the site near of a key oil hub. The U.S. Geological Survey says the earthquakes occurred Nov. 22 in Cushing in Payne County, …

Rejecting Science, Texas Still Denies Fracking Link to Quakes

A white Chevy Suburban with “Railroad Commission of Texas” emblazoned on its side rolled north on Interstate 35. Behind the wheel sat Milton Rister, the commission’s director. Trim and balding, Rister was a veteran political operator who had held influential …

In Oklahoma, Pawnee Nation Files Suit to Void Drilling Permits

The Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma has filed a lawsuit against the federal government to void drilling permits for oil and natural gas wells on tribal land that the tribe alleges cause earthquakes in northern Oklahoma. The lawsuit was filed in …

Oklahoma Orders the Shut Down of More Disposal Wells

The 5.0 magnitude earthquake that occurred near Cushing, Oklahoma on Nov. 6 has prompted state oil and gas regulatory officials to order the shutdown of more underground wastewater disposal wells in the surrounding area. The number of earthquake in Oklahoma …

Oklahoma, EPA Shut Down 32 Wells Near Newly Discovered Fault Line

A 5.8-magnitude earthquake and a series of smaller aftershocks in Oklahoma led to the discovery of a new fault line and stoked fears among some scientists about activity along other unknown faults that could be triggered by oil and gas …

Can States Stop Man-Made Earthquakes?

Stopping an earthquake before it starts? It sounds like a feat possible only for a superhero. But in Kansas and Oklahoma state policymakers are showing that insofar as humans are causing earthquakes, they can stop them, too. After restricting oil …

Magnitude 3.7 Quake Recorded near Pawnee, Oklahoma

The U.S. Geological Survey says a 3.7 magnitude earthquake has been recorded near Pawnee. The USGS says the quake was recorded at 11:50 a.m. on June 8 about 8 miles northwest of Pawnee. The area is about 75 miles north-northeast …

Oklahoma Energy Companies Ask Judge to Dismiss Earthquake Lawsuit

Three Oklahoma energy companies want a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit demanding they reduce injection volumes at wastewater disposal wells that could be triggering earthquakes. The lawsuit was filed in February by members of the Oklahoma Sierra Club. It …