LOS ANGELES (
KABC) -- Seismologists say they can't pin Monday's 4.4-magnitude earthquake in Los Angeles on any one fault, but rather on the buildup of stress associated with the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. Could "fracking" be blamed for the quake? That's what three Los Angeles City Council members want to find out.
Councilmen Paul Koretz, Mike Bonin and Bernard Parks filed a motion on Tuesday, calling for city staff to investigate whether oil and natural gas drilling methods helped trigger the quake.
City staff would work with the California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, or DOGGR, the U.S. Geological Survey and the South Coast Air Quality Management District to put together a report to see if there are any links between fracking and the earthquake.
The councilmembers say the quake's origin was located near areas where active oil extraction activities have been reported. Fracking involves injecting wells with a high-pressure solution to free up trapped natural gas and oil deposits.
