Earthquakes at magnitude 5 in Peace river attributed to human causes, waste water fluid injection

The new study on the Peace tremors, published last month by Geophysical Research Letters, concluded the earthquakes acted “as a domino-like sequence triggered by wastewater injection and sustained by interactions between fault structures.” In effect the geology channelled the wastewater into a deep ancient fault zone. The study warned that “ongoing injection may rebuild pressure and initiate new sequences” of earthquake activity. At the time of the quakes the Alberta Energy Regulator initially downplayed industry’s role but later changed its tune when a 2023 Stanford study identified water injection as the cause of the earthquakes. The regulator then issued an environmental protection order against Obsidian, a mid-sized Calgary-based company. The order requested that the company act at one of its injection wells to reduce the tremors felt throughout central Alberta and submit a mitigation plan. But the firm appealed the regulatory order on the grounds that “the evidence linking the Obsidian well to the seismic events is ambiguous” and that other industrial activities in the area such as other bitumen producers are “substantially more likely” to be the cause of the seismic events. read the whole story here: https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2026/04/27/New-Study-Nails-Industry-Cause-Record-Quake/