ENERGY PRODUCTION AND INDUCED SEISMICITY IN THE MIDCONTINENT: THE KANSAS RESPONSE

Like other parts of the midcontinent, Kansas has experienced increased seismicity, particularly in south-central Kansas near the Oklahoma border, over the past few years. Because Kansas has generally been a seismically quiet state, the state was relatively under-instrumented when these small earthquakes began. In response, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback appointed a state task force on induced seismicity that included the Kansas Geological Survey, the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC), and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. That task force recommended increased monitoring (both permanent and temporary arrays) and developed a seismic action scoring system that helped to identify induced (versus natural) seismicity and guided the gathering of additional information in areas of seismic concern. Attention centered on large-volume wells that disposed of saltwater from an active Mississippian limestone play, much of which was based on horizontal drilling. In March 2015 the KCC ordered reductions in disposal and the cementing of wells that had penetrated basement rock in five areas of seismic concern in two counties (Harper and Sumner). Earthquake activity has declined significantly since then, though the reasons for that decline are still under discussion. Dealing with induced seismicity has posed significant political, legal, and media challenges, particularly in terms of communicating possible causes of induced seismicity (saltwater disposal rather than hydraulic fracturing), and has depended greatly on cooperation between geoscience organizations and national efforts aimed at understanding and responding to induced seismicity.