Officials have confirmed the first fracking related earthquake in Pennsylvania that took place last year in Lawrence County, northwest of Pittsburgh. The Department of Environment Protection is stepping up its requirements for drilling in the part of Pennsylvania, know for seismic activity.

In April last year, the Texas based Hilcorp Energy Company was fracking a pair of wells in the Utica Shale near New Castle in Pennsylvania  when seismic monitors nearby detected five tremors, measuring in between 1.8 to 2.3 on the Richter scale.

The quakes were so small that it cannot be felt on the surface. But they were significant because fracking-induced earthquakes had never been recorded in the state.

The chief of well-plugging and subsurface activities for DEP’s oil and gas management program Seth Pelepko said “At least within Pennsylvania, this is the first time that we have seen that sort of spatial and temporal correlation with [oil and gas] operator activity.”

In addition, he said there were no faults in while identifying along portions of the well bore where the seismic events were detected.

In the state the earthquakes are not so common, though oil and gas related earthquakes have been observed in Ohio and Oklahoma.

In Ohio, 77 small earthquakes were linked to natural gases drilling around Poland Township in 2014, just over the state line from Lawrence County.

The DEP has set up a “stop light” procedure, to which the company has agreed to shut down operations, if an earthquake greater than 2.0 on the Richter scale or three successive quakes between 1.5 and 1.9 in magnitude occurs.

Pelepko said the system allows early detection and early response. Essentially everyone knows what they need to do next.

In the Marcellus and Utica shales in the state more than 10,000 unconventional wells have been drilled

Pennsylvania is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the country, behind Texas.

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