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Indiana studies if fracking causes earthquakes

INDIANAPOLIS --The man who oversees Indiana's oil and gas industries says the state is studying whether hydraulic fracturing used by many operators can cause earthquakes in the state.

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Indiana Department of Natural Resources Oil and Gas Division Director Herschel McDivitt is a member of a group of U.S. drilling state officials, seismologists, academics and others who released a report Monday examining how states handled various seismic incidents linked to fracking.

McDivitt says the DNR began a study about a year ago in collaboration with the Indiana Geological Survey to assess whether fracking can induce earthquakes in Indiana.

He says about a quarter of Indiana's oil and gas wells have been fracked in an effort to produce more oil and gas.

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