A class action lawsuit has been filed in Pawnee County, Oklahoma, against oil and gas production companies whose operations have caused a rash of severe earthquakes.
The petition claims that the actions of Eagle Road Oil, Cummings Oil Company and John Doe's 1-25 have, by "disposing fracking wastewater deep into the earth," introduced contaminants into the natural environment that have caused an adverse change to it in the form of unnatural seismic activity.
The plaintiffs, James Adams and other citizens, are asking for damages to real property, market value loss, emotional distress and punitive damages.
Eathquakes in the state have increased in number and severity since 2011.
The largest quake was on Sept. 3, whena 5.8 earthquake shook apart many properties and caused some crumbling in Wichita.
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Aileen LeBlanc is news director at KMUW. Follow her on Twitter @Aileen_LeBlanc.
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