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What’s causing Texas earthquakes? Fracking ‘most likely,’ report says
“The quakes don’t sound like much to somebody from California, But when you are sitting right on top of them, they are more than noticeable. They will shake the entire house, and you have no doubt about it when you have gone through it. We have in my home perhaps 100 or more wall hangings, pieces of art — prints, etchings, oil originals — and none of them are hanging straight.”
– Jim Wells who has lived in the upscale Las Colinas area of Irving, Texas, for 14 years.
The effects of fracking have been considered “inconclusive” for many years, which has been a barrier to community members and citizens who are worried about the practice on their environment, but lack proof of harm. CNN reported on the effect of fracking on the earth below oil and gas shale areas:
“According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Dallas area has suffered almost 40 small earthquakes (magnitude 2.0 or higher) since the beginning of this year, the latest a magnitude-2.7 quake near Farmers Branch on Saturday. Many of the epicenters were recorded in Farmers Branch and Irving, with a couple to the south in Venus.”
A Southern Methodist University-led research team found that in Azle and Reno, towns northwest of Fort Worth, the oil and gas activities in the vicinity were “most likely” responsible for several earthquakes over the past few years.
“While some uncertainties remain, it is unlikely that natural increases to tectonic stresses led to these events,” head researcher Heather DeShon of SMU wrote in the report.
The findings were made possible by a “first-of-its-kind” modeling study that pushed the researchers ability to measure possible causes of quakes.
Does this mean that, if the companies caused damage, they will be liable for damages?
