Texas' oil and gas regulator is investigating last week's 5.4 magnitude earthquake — the largest in three decades. | via texastribune
Workers at a fracking rig in Midland. Studies have linked disposal of fracking wastewater with an increase in seismic activity in Texas, and the Texas Railroad Commission is now investigating a 5.4 magnitude quake that struck West Texas this week.that was recorded west of Pecos near the border of Reeves and Culberson counties on Wednesday, the agency said.
“It felt like a truck hit the house,” said David Shifflett, a 74-year-old farmer in Reeves County, near the quake’s epicenter. “Sounded like a real high wind came up.” Most of the building’s clinical services were moved to a new building about a decade ago, but some administrative services were still housed in the historic location. Those offices have now been moved to a different space, according to a University Health statement.
Between three and six barrels of salty, polluted water also come up to the surface with every barrel of oil during the fracking process — ancient water that was trapped underground by rock formations. In recent years, the Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas activity in the state and issues permits for the water injection wells, has created several “seismic response areas” in West Texas, where the agency has asked companies to limit their water disposal activities and agree to an industry-led plan to reduce seismic activity.
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