The Environmental Protection Agency has told Texas to improve its regulation of fracking, saying the energy extraction method has been linked to seismic activity in the state.
An annual agency report to the Texas Railroad Commission, the state body that oversees fracking, concluded that “there is a significant possibility that North Texas earthquake activity is associated with disposal wells.”
EPA said the study was based on “findings from several researchers, its own analysis of some cases and the fact that earthquakes diminished in some areas following shut-in or reduced injection volume of targeted wells,” according to The Texas Tribune.
Fracking is a process through which natural gas or oil is extracted from the earth by injecting fluid into rock formations. Studies have shown for years that fracking and the waste byproduct disposal that follow it correlate with seismic activity.
The agency recommended that the Railroad Commission step up its monitoring of fluid injection. It also told the state regulators to implement “appropriate data analysis methods, in a coordinated effort to detect possible correspondence with seismic activity.”
One industry lawyer based in Fort Worth, Texas told the Tribune that the report marked the first time the EPA linked earthquakes in the state to the fracking industry.
“It’s a big deal they said that,” Jim Bradbury said.
Brabury also told the publication that the report appears to show the EPA “troubled” by Texas’ approach to scientific analysis. He additionally noted that the EPA can revoke the Railroad Commission’s regulatory authority over fracking waste wells.
One town in Texas had attempted to ban fracking in 2014, in a referendum that was approved by 59 percent of voters. Denton, however, had its moratorium overturned last year by the Texas state legislature.
In May, Environmental groups sued the EPA over federal fracking regulations, or an alleged lack thereof.
Organizations, including Environmental Integrity Project and the National Resources Defense Council, claimed that links between “increased seismicity” and fracking are one of many reasons the agency must update its regulatory framework.
“While certain states have taken some degree of action in response to these increasing earthquakes, others have not,” the groups said.
About 7 million Americans live in areas impacted by earthquakes caused by human activity, according to a first-of-its-kind US Geological Society study, which was published in March. The Hill noted these areas were mostly in “states with prevalent oil and natural gas drilling.”
