In the wake of a series of mini-earthquakes earlier in 2011, the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission voted unanimously to ban disposal wells in the state for fracing fluids.
As part of the decision, one disposal well must be shut down. The ban prohibits drilling any new disposal wells within a 1,150-square-mile area.
During the investigation, the commission was able to trace the earthquakes to four disposal wells that were on a fault line. After operations were suspended at half of these wells, the earthquakes subsided.
The decision does not affect drilling operations in the area, only high-pressure waste fluid injections.
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