>>> EIGHT EARTHQUAKES IN JUST SEVEN DAYS.
YEAH, THAT'S THE NEW NORMAL IN OKLAHOMA.
YOU THINK WE'D BE TALKING ABOUT CALIFORNIA, RIGHT?
IN OKLAHOMA, 2008, THEY EXPERIENCED JUST TWO QUAKES OF
MAGNITUDE 2.3 OR HIGHER. IN THE ANYONE YEARS INSURANCE
IS, THAT NUMBER'S EXPLODED. MANY SAY THE STATE'S BOOMING ONL
BUSINESS IS TO BLAME FOR IT. CONSUMER ADVOCATE AND
ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST ERIN BROCKOVICH.
I'M CURIOUS HOW YOU GOT INTO THIS ISSUE.
>> ANY TIME THERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S HAPPENING ENVIRONMENTALLY
AND WITH WATER, PEOPLE WILL OFTENTIMES COME TO ME AND THAT'S
THE PROCESS THAT HAPPENED HERE. BECAUSE EARTHQUAKES AREN'T
NORMAL IN OKLAHOMA. SO PEOPLE AS THEY BEGAN
IMMEDIATELY STARTED REACHING OUT TO ME.
>> OKAY, PEOPLE DON'T NECESSARILY THINK OF EARTHQUAKES
AND WATER SO PUT THIS ALL TOGETHER.
IS IT FRACING, IS THAT WHAT IT IS THAT LEADS TO EARTHQUAKES?
AND HOW SOLID, IF SO, IS THE EVIDENCE LINKING IT TO THIS HUGE
SPIKE IN OKLAHOMA? >> WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE FRAC IS
YOU GENERATE AND USE A GREAT DEAL OF WATER.
BILLIONS OF BARRELS OF WATER AS A MATTER OF FACT.
AND WHAT THEY DO IS THE FRACING PROCESS ISN'T CAUSING THE
EARTHQUAKES. IT'S THE DEEP WATER, THE WASTE
WATER THAT IS DEEPLY INJECTED INTO THE SUBSURFACE THAT'S
PUTTING PRESSURE ON THESE NEARBY FAULTS THAT'S CAUSING THEM TO
MOVE. AND STATE AND FEDERAL OFFICIALS
HAVE AGREED AND SCIENCE AS WELL AS THE USGS, THAT IT IS THE
PRESSURE FROM THE INJECTION OF THIS WASTE WATER THAT IS, IN
FACT, CAUSING THESE EARTHQUAKES IN OKLAHOMA.
>> OKAY, SO THIS NEWS IS OUT THERE, AND WE'RE SAYING THAT
IT'S FACT FROM SCIENTISTS. SO OKLAHOMA'S OIL INDUSTRY HAS
MADE SOME ADJUSTMENTS. FOR EXAMPLE, THEY HAVE SHUT DOWN
OR REDUCED THE OUTPUT OF SEVEN. SO WHAT MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE?
>> WELL, THEY HAVE DONE THAT.
AND, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN CONTINUE TO REDUCE THAT EVEN FURTHER.
SO THE DAMAGE HAS BEEN DONE THOUGH.
THE HORSE IS OUT OF THE BARN, IF YOU WILL.
BECAUSE SCIENTISTS SAYING EVEN IF THEY CONTINUE TO DO THAT, IN
THE FUTURE, THIS RISK OF A 5.0, 6.0 OR GREATER WILL CONTINUE FOR
THOSE IN OKLAHOMA. >> AND HOW LONG INTO THE FUTURE
DOES THE RISK CONTINUE? I MEAN, IS IT A COUPLE OF YEARS?
IS IT A DECADE? IS IT LONGER?
>> OH, IT COULD BE A DECADE OR LONGER OR DECADES.
YOU KNOW, IN 2014, WHERE IT WAS ABOUT 12 BILLION BARRELS OF
WASTE WATER WAS DEEPLY INJECTED AND IS PUTTING PRESSURES ON
THESE FAULTS, AND SO IT COULD BE DECADES BEFORE THE RISK IS
REDUCED. SO IT'S CERTAINLY A PROBLEM AND,
YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN OUT THERE. I WAS JUST OUT THERE A COUPLE OF
WEEKS AGO. AND I'M FROM L.A.
I HAVEN'T FELT AN EARTHQUAKE IN A WHILE.
ALL A SUDDEN, WE'RE ALL GOINGOI UH, EARTHQUAKE?
SO IT'S VERY CONCERNING TO THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE.
THEY FEEL VERY FEARFUL. AND THEY WANT INFORMATION AND
FACTS. LOOK, WE WANT THE OIL AND GAS
INDUSTRY TO BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR AND DO WHAT THEY NEED TO DO,
RIGHT, ENVIRONMENTALLY. THIS HAS HAPPENED.
IT'S A PROBLEM. AND THEY COULD REDUCE IT EVEN
FURTHER, BUT IN THE FUTURE THE CHANCE OF A 6.0 EARTHQUAKE OR
GREATER IS STILL GOING TO EXIST. >> OKAY, WE'RE SEEING MAGNITUDES
ON OUR LAST GRAPHIC, IF MY DIRECTOR WANTS TO PUT THAT BACK
UP FOR US, IN THE 2s, THE 3s, BUT YOU REPORTED THAT ONE YEAR
WHERE THERE WERE ON THE RICHTER SCALE IN THE 5 MAGNITUDE.
HOW ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE A 7? IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?
>> WE WILL DEFINITELY TELL YOU THAT THE SCIENCE IS TALKING
ABOUT AND STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS AND FEDERAL OFFICIALS
THAT IN THE FUTURE THERE'S STILL A RISK OF A MAGNITUDE 6 AND
GREATER. IN 2016, THEY HAD THREE, THEY
HAD A 5.0 IN CUSHING THAT DESTROYED BUILDINGS IN HISTORIC
DOWNTOWN. THE BIGGEST WAS IN PAWNEE AND
THAT WAS A 5.8. ALL THREE OF THOSE OCCURRING IN
2016. NOW, WE HAVEN'T SEEN AS BIG A
MAGNITUDE, BUT THEY CONTINUE TO HAVE LITTLE ONES.
LIKE I SAID, WHEN WE'RE THERE, THEY HAD A COUPLE AROUND 3.8.
BUT THE FUTURE IS SHOWING, BECAUSE OF THAT PRESSURE AND
THAT INJECTION THAT THEY'VE DONE, WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET
AWAY FROM THE FACT THAT THERE COULD, IN FACT, BE A 6.0 OR
GREATER MAGNITUDE. >> CAN I ASK YOU TALK ABOUT THE
CURRENT EPA CHIEF, SCOTT PRUITT? NOW HE'S WITH THETHE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION. WHAT'S HIS RECORD WITH REGARD TO
THESE QUAKES? >> WELL, HE'S CERTAINLY AWARE OF
THEM AND HASN'T DISAGREED THAT BECAUSE OF THE FRACING AND THE
INJECTION OF THEIR WASTE WATER THAT THE INDUSTRY HAS CREATED
THIS SITUATION. THE OKLAHOMANS, YOU KNOW, THEY
HAVE DIFFERENT OPINIONS. WHEN I'M OUT THERE, WE'RE JUST
TRYING TO FOCUS WITH THEM ABOUT THESE EARTHQUAKE, DAMAGE THAT'S
BEEN DONE TO THEIR HOMES, HOW THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO GET THEM
FIXED. SO IT WOULD BE VARYING, BUT HE'S
NOT GOING TO DISAGREE