Study: Oklahoma Wastewater Disposal Regulations Not Strict Enough To Prevent Earthquakes

摘要

Since 2012, Oklahoma has seen a sharp uptick in number of earthquakes. Several geologists have attributed this phenomenon to the large volume of wastewater that oil and gas drilling operations commonly pump back underground for disposal. In response, state regulators, in 2016, mandated a 40% reduction in wastewater volumes injected by oil and gas producers into northwestern Oklahoma's Arbuckle formation.