Oklahoma Struck with 5.6 Magnitude Earthquake #FrackingCost

On September 3, a record-tying 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck Pawnee, OK, producing rattles from Nebraska to North Texas. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake hit within the vicinity of an area where regulators intervened earlier this year to limit wastewater disposal produced from fracking.The disposal of wastewater produced from hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” as it’s commonly known, has led to the alarming increase of earthquakes with magnitude-3 or larger by nearly 300 times, or 30,000% in north-central Oklahoma alone. In 2014, more than 5,000 earthquakes were reported.

Shortly after the earthquake, Oklahoma Governor, Mary Fallin announced a mandatory shutdown of 37 wastewater disposal injection wells across a 500-square-mile radius. She added that the Oklahoma Corporation Commission would be reviewing disposal wells in a 725-square-mile “area of interest” around the quake.

Earlier this year, the Sierra Club and Public Justice filed suit against four of the primary culprits for wastewater disposal, citing that it causes an “imminent and substantial endangerment” to public health and the environment in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

In response, Sierra Club Oklahoma Chapter Director Johnson Bridgwater released the following statement:

“It’s heartbreaking to see what has happened in my beloved home state, and I want to extend my thoughts and prayers to everyone here in Oklahoma, and those from Texas to Nebraska who suffered and were rattled by this morning’s earthquake.

“Oklahomans, like all Americans, deserve the security and comfort of knowing that their homes will not crumble around them due to corporate malfeasance. The oil and gas industry, Governor Fallin, and our state legislature must stop putting polluters’ profits over its citizens safety and well-being, and take swift and immediate action to end this epidemic.”