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Is Fracking Causing East Texas Earthquakes?

NPR
Published March 18, 2014 at 9:15 AM PDT
The water tower in Timpson wasn't build to withstand earthquakes. "After 4.0 [on the Richter scale], we get pretty nervous," says Debra Smith, the mayor. "We have buildings in town that are over a hundred years old." (Terrence Henry/StateImpact Texas)
The water tower in Timpson wasn't build to withstand earthquakes. "After 4.0 [on the Richter scale], we get pretty nervous," says Debra Smith, the mayor. "We have buildings in town that are over a hundred years old." (Terrence Henry/StateImpact Texas)

Earthquakes have been rocking Texas recently. In the last several years since a fracking boom began, the number of recorded earthquakes has increased tenfold.

Scientists in Texas and other states are studying whether wastewater sent to disposal wells are the culprits. It’s a question that has been around for years, but there are no simple answers.

Now, scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have connected a relatively large earthquake in East Texas to disposal wells.

From the Here & Now Contributors Network, Terrence Henry of StateImpact Texas reports.

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