Earthquakes & Fracking: Commercial Real Estate and Insurance Implications in Texas

© 2015 The Texas Lawbook.By Vince Morgan and Tamara Bruno of Pillsbury (April 29) – Before 2008, the greater Dallas Fort Worth area, known as the Fort Worth Basin, was almost entirely void of seismic activity. Between 1950 and 2008, the only seismic activity on record was an insignificant event that experts could only agree “might” have been an earthquake. Recently, however, seismic activity in the Fort Worth Basin has increased significantly, with more than 120 earthquakes recorded in the region since 2008. Although the cause of this increase in earthquakes has not been determined, some suggest that hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”)—the high-powered injection of millions of gallons of fluid into deep reserve wells—has induced these tremors. For example, a February 20, 2015, article in Science Magazine argues that the large influx of seismic activity in the mid-continent, including the Fort Worth Basin, is due to “fluid-injection activities used in modern energy production.” This increase in seismic activity in the Fort Worth Basin, regardless of cause, will likely lead to a rise in the official earthquake risk level for the Fort Worth Basin when the United States Geological Survey (USGS) releases an updated earthquake hazard map in the coming months.…