4.0 Magnitude Earthquake Recorded Near South Haven Tuesday

A 4.0 magnitude earthquake was recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey Tuesday night in Sumner County.

The center of the quake was just east of South Haven at 9:34 p.m. with a depth of 2.5 km. As of late Wednesday morning, 333 people reported to USGS they felt the quake, including in Cowley County.

In April, USGS reported a 4.3 magnitude earthquake that originated in an area near Perry, Oklahoma that was felt in Cowley County.

According to a November 2018 report from the Kansas Geological Survey, earthquakes in the state have increased to unprecedented levels since 2013 within a few miles of wastewater disposal wells, mainly in Barber, Harper, and Sumner counties. KGS also cites injection wells in Oklahoma contributing to earthquakes in Kansas. The wells are used for oil and gas extraction operations.

Initially, operators of the newly completed Class II disposal wells in south-central Kansas were permitted to inject fluid into the ground at rates three to four times historic levels. By 2015, an unparalleled amount was being injected into an area about the size of two counties spanning both sides of the Kansas-Oklahoma state line.

Following a Kansas Corporation Commission order to reduce injection volumes in the area, the number of earthquakes of magnitude 2 or greater in the injection-restricted footprint dropped from nearly 800 in 2015 to 250 in 2016.

Most earthquakes in Kansas, natural or induced, are too small to be felt, although slippage along a fault of sufficient length and under the right stress conditions can trigger an earthquake large enough to cause damage.

No damage has been reported with this earthquake, but in December state lawmakers signaled they are likely to face renewed debate in the next legislative session about how or whether to hold oil and gas companies accountable for property damage caused by earthquakes in Kansas, according to the Associated Press.