TOPEKA – Gov. Sam Brownback has named a state task force to study and develop a plan for dealing with earthquakes related to oil and gas fracking in Kansas. Calling it a matter of public safety, Brownback said recent seismic activity in south-central Kansas has raised concerns that fluid injection might be related. The task force members include Rex Buchanan of the Kansas Geological Survey, Kim Christiansen of the Kansas Corporation Commission, and Mike Tate, Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Bureau of Water. The group will first meet in April in Wichita. There is data that point to a possible link between fluid injection, in which fracking byproducts are pumped back underground, and seismic activity, Buchanan says. Since drilling companies have increased the use of fracking, which is short for hydraulic fracturing, to get at remote underground oil and gas formations in south-central Kansas, the number of minor earthquakes has increased.
Tuesday, Fewb. 18, 4 p.m.
