"The more oil companies frack, the more contaminated wastewater they produce, and that dangerous waste is polluting our water and putting large parts of our country on shaky ground," Sullivan said.
On Monday, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission announced it would regulate five wastewater injection wells by limiting the amount of wastewater injected during the fracking process.
Oklahoma has recently been hit with numerous earthquakes, many of which have been attributed to the fracking practice’s injection of wastewater into the earth. The method has been heavily criticized for the associated environmental risks and its potential to trigger tremors.
Sullivan stated that the slowness of Oklahoma regulators to address the impact of fracking on the country’s lands displays a disturbing influence of the oil and gas industry over the state’s officials.
"Oil industry-earthquakes are wreaking havoc, and both state and federal regulators are doing very little to protect people and property from this inevitable result of fracking and oil production," Sullivan concluded.
On Tuesday, Oklahoma advocacy group Stop Fracking Oklahoma founder Kelley McDonald told Sputnik that the oil and gas companies will only follow the fracking mandates if they are forced to by possible penalties and criminal prosecution.
