fracking News

USGS: Wastewater Disposal Most Likely Caused Oklahoma Quake

The third-largest earthquake in Oklahoma was likely triggered by underground disposal of wastewater from oil and natural gas production, the U.S. Geological Survey found in a report issued Monday. The magnitude 5.1 quake that struck northwest of Fairview in February …

New Measure Would Put Most of Colorado Off Limits to Wells

A proposal to require new oil and gas wells to be at least 2,500 feet from homes and schools in Colorado would leave 90 percent of the state off-limits to future drilling, regulators said Friday. The Colorado Oil and Gas …

EPA Says Fracking Safe, Scientists Disagree

A landmark study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that concluded fracking causes no widespread harm to drinking water is coming under fire – this time, from the agency’s own science advisers. The EPA’s preliminary findings released in June were …

New Report on Handling Quakes Caused by Fracking

A group of U.S. drilling states, seismologists, academics and industry experts issued guidance Monday in a frank new report on handling human-induced earthquakes caused by hydraulic fracturing or the disposal of fracking wastewater. The 150-page report, produced by the StatesFirst …

Fracking Boom Linked to Increasing Wastewater Spills

Carl Johnson and son Justin are third- and fourth-generation ranchers who for decades have battled oilfield companies that left a patchwork of barren earth where the men graze cattle in the high plains of New Mexico. Blunt and profane, they …

Montana May Require Drilling Buffer Zones Near Homes

Montana regulators were expected to decide Wednesday whether they should follow neighboring energy-producing states in creating buffer zones that set a minimum distance between homes and oil and gas drilling sites. The state Board of Oil and Gas Conservation planned …

Oklahoma Woman Blaming Fracking for Injury After Quake Can Sue

New Dominion LLC can be sued by an Oklahoma woman injured when her fireplace fell on her during an earthquake that she blames on disposal wells tied to fracking. Tuesday’s ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court reversed a lower-court decision …

Study Finds That Mega Injections of Wastewater Triggers More Quakes

The more oil and gas companies pump their saltwater waste into the ground, and the faster they do it, the more they have triggered earthquakes in the central United States, a massive new study found. An unprecedented recent jump in …

EPA Finds Fracking Doesn’t Lead to Widespread Pollution of Drinking Water

Fracking for shale oil and gas has not led to widespread pollution of drinking water, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency draft report said on Thursday, although it warned some drilling activities could potentially cause health risks. The study, requested by …

Oklahoma Coalition Demands Well Moratorium in Quake Areas

A coalition of environmental and grassroots organizations is calling for a moratorium on the use of wastewater disposal wells by the oil and natural gas industry in areas where they may trigger earthquakes. Members of the coalition traveled to the …