Company: CRK
Filing Date: 2025-02-21
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-024783
Chunk: 63

Company: COMSTOCK RESOURCES INC
Filing Date: 2025-02-21
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 63
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 natural gas and oil exploration and production activities.

State and federal regulatory agencies have studied possible connections between hydraulic fracturing related activities and the increased occurrence of seismic activity. When caused by human activity, such events are called induced seismicity. In a few instances, operators of injection wells in the vicinity of seismic events have been ordered to reduce injection volumes or suspend operations. Some state regulatory agencies, including those in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas, have modified their regulations to account for induced seismicity. There continues to be research into the possible linkage between natural gas and oil activity and induced seismicity. A 2012 report published by the National Academy of Sciences, as well as a more recent paper published in the journal Reviews of Geophysics and cited on the U.S. Geological Survey website, concluded that only a very small fraction of the tens of thousands of injection wells have been suspected to be, or have been, the likely cause of induced seismicity. In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey identified eight states, including Texas, with areas of increased rates of induced seismicity that could be attributed to fluid injection or natural gas and oil extraction. In March 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey identified six states with the most significant hazards from induced seismicity, including Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, and Arkansas. In addition, a number of lawsuits have been filed, including in Oklahoma, alleging that disposal well operations have caused damage to or injury at nearby properties or otherwise violated state and federal rules regulating waste disposal. It is possible that the EPA or other agencies may develop rules to specifically address the disposal of wastewater from natural gas and oil development and the potential for induced seismicity from wastewater injection. Future regulatory developments could adversely affect our 

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operations by placing restrictions on the use of injection wells and hydraulic fracturing and/or causing us to incur increased operating expenses.

In December 2016, the EPA finalized its report on the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources, which concluded that hydraulic fracturing activities could impact drinking water resources under some circumstances. Other governmental agencies, including the U.S. Department of Energy, have evaluated or are evaluating various other aspects of hydraulic fracturing. These ongoing or proposed studies have the potential to impact the likelihood or scope of future legislation or regulation.

Federal regulators require certain owners or operators of facilities that store or otherwise handle oil to prepare and implement spill prevention, control, countermeasure