Earthquake And Drilling Link Prompts Colorado Review

A new report says earthquakes in Colorado and elsewhere may have been caused by a drilling procedure to dispose of wastewater.

In a report announced Wednesday, geophysicists say an increase in earthquakes on the Raton Basin in Colorado, northern New Mexico and elsewhere has been tied to disposal wells where oil and gas drilling wastewater is injected.

Drilling companies use disposal wells to bury brine water and chemical waste that result from hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

Colorado drilling regulators said more study is needed on the link between drilling waste disposal and the increase in earthquakes, but they have already started to look for seismic risk in permit reviews.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters