Earthquake rattles parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, in the heart of the hydraulic fracturing boom. Still no connection between hydraulic fracturing and earthquakes?
An
earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 shook parts of Kansas and
Oklahoma on Wednesday, the largest since a series of temblors began rattling
Kansas a little more than a year ago.
The
quake's epicenter was near the town of Conway Springs, about 25 miles southwest
of Wichita, according to the U.S. Geological Survey said. It came at 3:40 p.m.,
less than a day after a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded near the southern
Kansas town of Anthony.
Kansas
Emergency Management spokeswoman Sharon Watson said the only reported damage
was from an uprooted tree that cracked a home's foundation. No damage was
reported in Oklahoma, said Keli Cain, a spokeswoman at the state's Department
of Emergency Services.
The
region is at the heart of the state's mini oil-and-gas boom involving hydraulic
fracturing, or fracking. State and federal agencies are trying to determine
whether the controversial technique is responsible for a significant increase
in earthquakes over the past two years, the story said. Energy companies deny
the connection, saying the state has always had earthquakes.
The Oklahoma University Geological Survey issued a report that indicated that the jury is still out regarding the cause of the quakes and whether hydraulic fracturing has contributed to the tremors. It is safe to say that hydraulic fracturing is not helping. Only time will tell us what the connection is. We have the feeling and the expertise to say that hydraulic fracturing is most certainly a contributing factor to the quakes.