RESOLUTION URGING EARTHQUAKE LEGISLATION FOR THE RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS WHEREAS, prior to 2008, earthquakes were rare

in North Texas. (North Texas Rocked by 11 Earthquakes in 40 Days, Fuel Fix, by Dan X. McGraw, July 17, 2012.); WHEREAS, since 2008 and the onset of the shale gas boom, man-made earthquakes increased significantly in Texas and across the nation often times accompanied by loud booms. (Why Texans are Hearing a Loud Boom When Earthquakes Hit, by Mose Buchele, February 3, 2014, State Impact, NPR, Texas); WHEREAS, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS): "The number of earthquakes has increased dramatically over the past few years within the central and eastern United States. [And] nearly 450 earthquakes magnitude 3.0 and larger occurred in the four years from 2010-2013...; WHEREAS, "USGS scientists have found that at some locations the increase in seismicity coincides with the injection of wastewater in deep disposal wells." (Man-Made Earthquakes Update, USGS, By William Ellsworth, et. al, January 17, 2014); WHEREAS, when Arkansas shut down injection wells in 2011 seismic activity declined. (Arkansas Earthquakes Decline After 'Fracking' Injection Well Closures, Huffington Post, by Sarah Edington, March 15, 2011); WHEREAS, after 5 earthquakes in a 2-day time span rattled a town in Ohio recently, drilling operations were shut down near several oil and gas wells. (Ohio Fracking Operation Halted Following Earthquakes, Huffington Post, by Hunter Stuart, March 12, 2014); WHEREAS, after over 30 earthquakes rattled the Texas cities of Azle, Reno, Springtown and were recorded near Eagle Mountain Lake Dam during the months of November and December 2013, the Railroad Commission of Texas (the regulatory agency for oil and gas) declared during a public meeting in January that they had no legal mechanism for shutting down the injection wells in the vicinity of these quakes; WHEREAS, many Texans have experienced damage to their property and significant mental anguish because of these man-made earthquakes; AND WHEREAS, earthquakes have subsided in areas where injection wells and fracking operations were shut down; THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that laws should be enacted as soon as possible that give the Railroad Commission of Texas authority to shut down injection wells when earthquakes are occurring. March 22, 2014