Yesterday,
multiple 4+ magnitude earthquakes rattled Oklahoma and this morning
three more were recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey.
All the earthquakes were in the same region and that was enough to do the unthinkable in Oklahoma—shut down fracking wastewater wells:
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission announced Tuesday morning that the three oil and gas wastewater disposal wells closest to the earthquake activity in the Crescent area are changing their operations after Monday's earthquakes.
Several quakes were centered near Crescent in central Oklahoma, and even though it's more than 100 miles away, many in Green Country felt it, and some even have damage. The biggest registered 4.5 and happened at 1:12 Monday afternoon.
After being contacted by the Commission's Oil & Gas Division, operators of two of the wells are shutting down operations while the third well - farthest from the activity - will reduce its injected volume by 50 percent, according to Tim Baker of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
The closures were "voluntary."
Of course, this is part of an extremely troubling trend, especially in Oklahoma:
Oklahoma has experienced the most earthquakes thought to be triggered by human activity in the eastern and central United States, according to a new report from the U.S. Geological Survey. Last year, the state registered more quakes of magnitude 3 or higher than California.
Mark Petersen, chief of the USGS's National Seismic Hazard Modeling Project, said the pattern is troubling.
"These earthquakes are occurring at a higher rate than ever before, and pose a much greater risk and threat to people living nearby," said Petersen, the report's lead author.