Kansas Lawmakers Look at Potential Link Between Fracking and Quakes

(AP) – A Kansas House committee is getting an update on hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas in the state and the potential connection to increased seismic activity.

Officials of state agencies and the Kansas Geological Survey were scheduled to speak Tuesday to the House Energy and Environment Committee.

Kansas has seen an increase in oil and gas exploration in southern counties as new technology allows extraction in difficult geological formations.

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking, involves high-pressure injections of liquid into underground rock to release trapped fossil fuels.

Fracking has been suspected as causing increased seismic activity in parts of the U.S. that typically aren’t prone to earthquakes.