WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The head of the Kansas Geological Survey says no one should become complacent just because fewer earthquakes are rattling southern Kansas.
Rex Buchanan says oil-waste regulations that seem to have contributed to lowering the number of earthquakes are set to expire Sept. 13.
The Kansas Corporation Commission approved regulations in March to limit the underground disposal of saltwater that comes up with the oil. The Wichita Eagle reports injecting that water back into the ground is considered a likely cause of increased earthquakes in Kansas and Oklahoma. Most of the Kansas earthquakes have been in Harper and Sumner counties.
Buchanan says it would be short-sighted to assume the problem is solved. He says the state needs to be better prepared than it was in the past.
