Blame for earthquakes is enough to go around

Texas Railroad Commisson member Ryan Sitton, in an opinion column published Thursday, said accuracy is crucial in news media stories about the oil and gas industry.

He focused on news about an Environmental Protection Agency report this week saying the federal agency “believes there is a significant possibility that North Texas earthquake activity is associated with disposal wells” that inject drilling waste deep underground.

The Star-Telegram’s online headline said, “EPA: North Texas earthquakes likely linked to oil and gas drilling.”

The one in the newspaper’s print editions was more accurate: “EPA says quakes likely linked to disposal wells.”

Don’t blame oil and gas drilling for earthquakes, Sitton says. In a few limited cases, disposal wells might be to blame.

Most of the wells drilled in the North Texas Barnett Shale sent their millions of gallons of fracking fluids and produced water to disposal wells once they were done.

If disposal wells are blamed for earthquakes, drilling is an accomplice.

This story was originally published August 25, 2016 at 6:30 PM with the headline "Blame for earthquakes is enough to go around."