The Earthquake Felt In El Paso May Have Been Caused By Fracking

Peeps in El Paso and Juarez reported feeling tremors following a 5.0 magnitude earthquake yesterday morning.

The US Geological Service said the quake happened about 50 miles from Carlsbad and approximately 5 miles down. A  3.0 "aftershock" followed about an hour later. A story in the Dallas Morning News suggests it may have been caused by an oil and gas drilling process known as fracking.

Since Texas earthquake rates first picked up in 2008, academic scientists, regulators and oil and gas companies have publicly agreed on one thing: fracking was not to blame. Instead, studies tied the quakes to the disposal of wastewater from oil and gas production.

Now, a new study suggests for the first time that some Texas earthquakes — specifically, those in West Texas — may indeed be connected to hydraulic fracturing, the process of injecting fluid, sand and chemicals underground at high pressure to release oil and gas. - Dallas Morning News

The article also said these earthquakes could grow in number and severity. Not all the quakes have been felt in the El Paso area but, a few have. The Franklin Mountains sit on a fault line that could, theoretically, cause an earthquake in El Paso.