Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.2 Earthquake hits near the coast of Nicaragua.

Injection Well Shuttered Because of Quakes

State regulators shut down an injection well in north-central Oklahoma following a series of quakes suspected to be related to its operation.

Injection wells are used to dispose of wastewater, laden with salt and toxic chemicals, that is produced by oil and gas wells.

The use of fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, has allowed a huge expansion of gas wells across Texas, Oklahoma and southern Kansas in recent years.

All three regions have experienced a sudden emergence of tremors that coincided with the new wells and their accompanying disposal operations.

Dozens of studies have shown a link between the injection wells and earthquakes.

Under a system established by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, wells within a six-mile radius of a magnitude-4.0 earthquake are placed under operating restrictions.

If additional earthquakes occur within six miles of an active well in that area, the commission can order the operator to halt injection while tests are conducted.

The well, operated by SandRidge Energy in Alfalfa County near the Kansas border, is the second active wastewater injection well directed to halt operations by the commission since it began a new monitoring system was established in 2013.