News

Actions

EPA shuts down 17 wells in Osage Nation after Oklahoma quake

Posted at 11:58 AM, Sep 07, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-07 12:58:32-04

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Federal regulators have shut down 17 wastewater disposal wells in the Osage Nation of northeastern Oklahoma following a weekend earthquake that matched the state's strongest on record.

Because the wells are located on tribal land, Oklahoma regulators have no jurisdiction over oil- and gas-producing facilities in the region. Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Matt Skinner told The Associated Press that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notified the state Tuesday that 17 wells were ordered closed.

The 17 wells are located in a 211-square mile area within Osage County, near where a magnitude 5.6 temblor struck Saturday. The epicenter was near Pawnee.

RELATED: 5.6 magnitude earthquake shakes swath of Midwest from Oklahoma to Missouri | Disposal wells to shut down following earthquake, says Oklahoma Corporation Commission | 

Meanwhile, two more earthquakes of magnitude 4.1 and 3.6 rattled northwest Oklahoma Tuesday, in an area away from Saturday's quake.