Following earthquake activity in Alfalfa County , Oklahoma near the Kansas – Oklahoma border in late-January 2015 , the Oklahoma Corporation Commission ordered SandRidge Energy to shut down an injection well it was operating . This was the second wastewater injection well directed to " shut in " or halt operations by the agency since a new monitoring system was established in 2013 . According to Matt Skinner , a spokesman from the commission , the directive was issued on February 3 in response to a magnitude 4.1 earthquake recorded in the area four days earlier . According to Skinner , " They were operating under a ' yellow light ' permit with language that said shut in if there 's any seismic activity . " As a result of the magnitude 5.6 earthquake on November 5 , 2011 , an estimated one million dollars in damage occurred in and around the Prague area . In April 2014 , the United States Geological Survey released an analysis indicating that " the likelihood of future , damaging earthquakes in central and north-central Oklahoma has increased as a result of the increased number of small and moderate shocks . " In light of the greatly increased earthquake activity , about 15 % of Oklahomans had purchased earthquake insurance by early 2015 according to Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak . On June 30 , 2015 , the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that homeowners who had suffered injuries or property damage as a result of frequent earthquakes believed to be caused by industrial activities could legally sue for damages in trial courts . This ruling was issued in spite of efforts by the industry to prevent such lawsuits from being accepted . The case was originally brought before a state court by Gary and Sandra Ladra , whose home in Prague was damaged ; she had also sustained physical injuries during the quake . It named the Spess Oil Company and New Dominion , LLC , two oil and gas companies , as named defendants in the case . The case was initially dismissed by a state court under the premise that such cases must go before the Oklahoma Corporation Commission as required by state law . After the Ladra 's lawyer appealed to the state supreme court , the 7-to-0 ruling on June 30 , 2015 , was made . In July 2017 , Spess came to a confidential settlement with the Ladras in the case
quake
2011 Oklahoma earthquake
2009–19 Oklahoma earthquake swarms