The top local stories this morning from KERA News:A new study out from UT Austin and SMU argues humans have been causing earthquakes throughout Texas for almost a century.
The paper, published in the journal Seismological Research Letters, concludes that activities associated with petroleum production likely set off 59 percent of earthquakes across the state between 1975 and 2015. That includes the recent earthquakes in Irving and Dallas.
Another 28 percent were “possibly” triggered by oil and gas activities, and only 13 percent of the quakes were considered natural. The study also stated wastewater disposal from hydraulic fracturing triggered most of the state’s earthquakes since 2008.
The Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry, dismissed the study’s methods as “arbitrary.”
Other stories this morning:
- Members of the state Senate Finance Committee yesterday promised to tighten up emergency leave rules for state employees. This comes after reports that State Attorney General Ken Paxton and other agency leaders used it to compensate outgoing employees.
- UT Dallas chemistry professor David McPhail has been working with North Texas art museums on how to best preserve art, using a method known as ion beam mass spectrometry
You can listen to North Texas stories weekdays at 8:22 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. on KERA 90.1 FM.
