Locations across the central and eastern United States (CEUS) have been experiencing a rapid increase in the number of induced earthquakes over the past 7 years.
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Fallin said in a statement that information is still being gathered and will be reviewed by her coordinating council on seismic activity.
Wells within 10 miles of the quake’s epicenter will shut down completely within 10 days, Oklahoma Corporation Commission spokesman Matt Skinner said. The Environmental Protection Agency is also investigating.
“The disposal wells dispose into the state’s deepest formation, the Arbuckle formation, which is right above what we call the basement”, Skinner said.
Fluid pressure in the saline aquifers seems to be transmitting into the underlying igneous and metamorphic basement rock, where it “lubricate” ancient faults and allow them to move. About three dozen wells are affected, and will have to shut down in as little as a week, Fallin said on Twitter.
Fracking involves injecting chemically infused water at high speeds into shale rock to release the gas or oil that lies beneath it. Within an hour of the September 3 M 5.6 natural disaster, 4 aftershocks have been located, the largest being a M3.6 event 56 minutes after the mainshock.
Pawnee County Emergency Management Director Mark Randell said no buildings collapsed in the town of 2,200 about nine miles southeast of the epicenter.
Moments later in the video, you could see his auto start to shake. Minor cosmetic damage was noted on two bridges. It’s still standing but some of the outer layers of sandstone fell. “We don’t know yet”, said Pawnee Mayor Brad Sewell.
Residents of Pawnee said it was a long, violent shake, unlike the short jolts they’re used to.
People in Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri; Chicago; Gilbert, Arizona; Fayetteville and Little Rock, Arkansas; Des Moines, Iowa; Memphis, Tennessee; and Big Lake in southwest Texas, all reported feeling the quake.
Station emergency preparedness manager Jim Stough says the nuclear station was built to withstand some earthquakes and other scenarios that are likely to occur in the region. It was recorded at shortly past 7 a.m. Saturday’s was 3.7 miles deep, compared to 3.1 miles in 2011.
Despite the light damage from the sizable quake, the shakeup did set off alarm bells on social media.
Over at the Pawnee Bill Ranch and museum artifacts were knocked over, and cracks in the foundation and walls could been seen following the quake.
As early as March 2015, USGS linked the spike in minor earthquakes to fracking.
Seismic activity is also on the rise in certain energy-intensive states after a relatively stable period of about 30 years, according to the USGS report. Tremors from the quake could be felt as far east as IL, west as Nebraska and south as Texas. The quake was felt in several states. No major injuries were reported. That temblor matches a November 2011 quake in the same region.
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EPA will determine what action to take in that area.
