The Texas Oil and Gas Agency is investigating the 5.4-magnitude earthquake in West Texas, the largest in three decades

Sign up for The Brief daily newsletter, which keeps readers up to date with top Texas news.

The agency said Texas Railroad Commission inspectors are investigating a 5.4-magnitude earthquake that was recorded west of the Pecos near the border of Reeves and Culberson counties on Wednesday.

The quake, confirmed by the USGS, was the largest earthquake recorded in the state since 1995 and the third largest in Texas history, according to the USGS National Earthquake Information Center.

The largest earthquake in Texas history was a 5.8-magnitude earthquake recorded in 1931 southwest of Valentine, according to the USGS National Earthquake Information Center.

“It felt like a truck had hit the house,” said David Shiflett, a 74-year-old farmer in Reeves County, near the epicenter. “It looked like a gale-force wind had risen.”

It was the largest earthquake for Texas in nearly three decades, but it is far from the only one. Shifflett has endured damage from small earthquakes for years. One, circa 2016, he said, left a vast bulge across 2,000 acres, cracking pipes and destroying the gravity-fed irrigation system.

The quake could be felt as far away as Carlsbad, New Mexico and El Paso, and forced University Health, Bexar County Hospital District, to evacuate a historic hospital building in downtown San Antonio after structural engineers declared it unsafe. The over 100-year-old building was known as the most modern hospital of its kind in the Southwest.

Most of the building’s clinical services were moved to a new building about a decade ago, but some administrative services are still located on the historic site. Those offices have now been moved to a different location, according to a university health statement.

The number of earthquakes recorded in Texas has increased in recent years, particularly in the Permian Basin in West Texas, which is the state’s most productive oil and gas region. Scientific studies have linked seismic activity to the dumping of polluted brine deep underground – a practice common by oil companies at the end of fracking that can awaken dormant fault lines.

[Earthquakes in Texas doubled in 2021. Scientists cite years of oil companies injecting sludgy water underground.]

Between three and six barrels of salty, polluted water rise to the surface with each barrel of oil during fracking—ancient water that was trapped underground by rock formations.

Years of hundreds of millions of gallons of polluted water being pumped daily underground in Texas has coincided with more frequent and powerful earthquakes in the state: An analysis by The Texas Tribune found that the number of earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 and greater doubled in 2021 from the previous year.

A study by the USGS and the University of Texas found that the vast majority of earthquakes in the last two decades that occurred near Pecos were likely caused by increased sewage disposal.

In recent years, the Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas activity in the state and issues permits for water injection wells, has established several “seismic response zones” in West Texas, as the agency has asked companies to limit water disposal activities. and approval of an industry-led plan to reduce seismic activity.

This week’s earthquake occurred in a response area in Culberson and Reeves counties that was created earlier this year. The agency said its inspectors are reviewing the industrial clusters plan and examining nearby water disposal activity. Operators may be required to reduce wastewater injection as a result of the earthquake, according to a statement from the Railways Commission.

It may take several months to a year after reducing or stopping wastewater injection to the area for it to stop shaking; The Railways Commission warned in a statement on Thursday that the historical activity indicated that the interval could be between 12 and 18 months.

Nita Rain, 73, of Toyahvale, in Reeves County, has spent years protesting well disposal permits because she fears they will trigger earthquakes that will destroy the area’s aquifer.

An earthquake in 1995, before the fracking boom, damaged the massive natural springs in nearby Balmorhea State Park, turning the waters murky and shutting down recreational swimming for months.

“Those springs are gone, this valley is going to die,” said Rayne. “This is our livelihood.”

Shiflett, the Reeves County farmer, said he strongly supports the oil sector but believes Texas regulators are not doing their part to limit its impact on geological stability.

“The railways are doing a lousy job, they are letting the oil companies do whatever they want,” he said. “They let them exert very high pressure underground very close to the surface.”

Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization funded in part by donations from members, foundations, and corporate sponsors. Financial backers play no role in the Tribune press. Find a full list of them here.

Sources 1/ https://Google.com/ 2/ https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2022/11/18/texas-oil-and-gas-agency-investigating-54-magnitude-earthquake-in-west-texas-the-largest-in-three-decades/ The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos