Texas has a history as an extremely friendly state for gas and oil production, but even there, the hydraulic fracturing boom has raised some eyebrows. Fracking waste disposal wells have been linked to an increase in earthquakes in several areas. Azle, TX had been pretty stable before fracking, but recorded 32 minor ones in just a few months of the fracking boom there. Another town, Cleburne, with a similar history had more than 50 quakes that Southern Methodist University linked to hydraulic fracturing waste disposal just a few years earlier. Those are not isolated incidents.
As of October 28, new regulations from the agency charged with setting rules for oil and gas activity in the state, the Texas Railroad Commission, now requires the oil and gas companies to include proof of research on seismic data for the areas they plan to drill - along with their permit applications.
The commission mandate forces applicants to have a “printed copy or screenshot” of seismic activity data that includes earthquakes within a 100-square mile area around the proposed drilling site. The commission can deem an area too risky to work. It also authorizes the agency to change, suspend or end permits for well disposal if the wells are “likely to be or determined to be contributing to seismic activity.”
http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/files/2014/10/Disposal-Well-Rule-Amendments-Oct-2014-1.pdf
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/10/28/3585530/texas-fracking-earthquake-rules/