Tag: Kansas

Flurry of earthquakes in Salina region raises new questions about wastewater injection

KCC exploring oil-and-gas industry drilling, fluid disposal in wake of tremblors

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — The 4.3 magnitude earthquake south of Salina in the first week of December was concerning enough hundreds of people contacted officials to report the home-rattling tremblor.

It turned out to be a precursor to more than a dozen quakes in the region that included a 4.0 at Gypsum and 3.5 at Assaria on Dec. 15, the Christmas surprise 2.0 in Marion, the 3.9 near Lindsborg and 3.3 at Salina on Sunday, and a triple-header Monday morning ranging from 2.5 to 2.8 on the perimeter of Salina.

This surge in earthquakes came to the attention of the Kansas Corporation Commission, which is responsible for regulating the oil and gas industry. The earthquakes also were noted by skeptics of waste-fluid injection and of hydraulic fracturing, which is a technique of expanding energy production by using wells to force fluids under pressure into bedrock formations.

Linda Berry, spokeswoman for the KCC, said the commission’s staff was working with the Kansas Geological Survey and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to investigate potential links between the latest earthquakes in Saline County and drilling or injection activity.

She said there had been no drilling in the past three months adjacent to the earthquakes south of Salina in central Kansas. That serves to rule out theories hydraulic fracturing directly induced the quakes, she said.

There are no KDHE-regulated Class I wastewater disposal wells within 15 miles of the earthquakes, Berry said. There are approximately 38 KCC-regulated Class II Arbuckle disposal wells within the 15-mile investigation area, she said.

“KCC staff has compiled the injection data for these wells dating back to 2015 and shared it with KGS and KDHE,” Berry said. “As we analyze this data, we will look for any patterns or trends that could be leading to the increased number of earthquakes.”

She said KCC had authority to request more detailed injection data from operators of the 38 wells and could take action to reduce or eliminate disposal at certain wells.

Joe Spease, chief executive officer of the WindSoHy, an Overland Park company involved in development of wind, hydrogen and energy storage projects, said disposal of waste fluids near Salina from elsewhere in Kansas or from other states could explain a flurry of earthquakes in Saline County.

“It has all the same identifiers that are associated with what I call ‘frackquakes,’” Spease said.

He said Kansas regulators were at a disadvantage because they relied on businesses to voluntarily report amounts and locations of fluids pumped underground through wells.

Earthquakes in Hutchinson, Hays and Salina bring urgency to questions about whether the KCC should expand limitations on wastewater injection and fracking, Spease said.

The Kansas Geological Survey has reported on links between induced seismicity and disposal of wastewater through injection wells. Research indicated fluids deposited at depth increased pressure along faults to a point where it overwhelmed frictional forces and triggered earthquakes.

In 2014, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 shook parts of Kansas and Oklahoma. The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter was near Conway Springs, which is about 25 miles southwest of Wichita. The KCC responded in 2015 with an order limiting waste fluid injection volume in the hardest hit counties in south-central Kansas. The regulatory action reduced incidence of earthquakes within that part of the state.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2021/12/30/flurry-of-earthquakes-in-salina-region-raise-new-questions-about-wastewater-injection/

KDHE reporting 10,000 Delta cases, two dozen Omicron cases of COVID-19 in Kansas

December pandemic numbers: 42,000 cases, 1,000 hospitalizations, 250 fatalities

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Testing confirmed emergence in Kansas of more than 10,000 cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19 and documented 25 instances of the Omicron mutation, while public health reports showed more than 1,000 hospitalizations and 250 fatalities linked to the virus so far in December.

Medical professionals in Kansas attributed the rise in hospital patients to the Delta version of COVID-19. In Kansas, an Omicron spike in hospitalization could arrive in January.

“I, like everyone else, was hoping that the Delta was the worst we were going to see and then we were going to get past that and we could move on to more normal,” said Gov. Laura Kelly. “I think Omicron has taken everybody a bit by surprise — the fact that it is so transmittable.”

She said growth in COVID-10 hospitalizations placed stress on health facilities expected to care for the typical caseload of patients and those requiring post-release rehabilitation services. The compounding burnout is prompting resignations and retirements among health workers, she said.

On Monday, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 512,461 infections, 16,846 hospitalizations and 6,964 deaths attributed to coronavirus since March 2020. So far in December, KDHE confirmed 42,694 cases, 1,064 hospitalizations and 259 fatalities.

In terms of vaccinations among Kansans 12 years of age or older, the state health agency said 66% were fully vaccinated as of Dec. 17. The highest rates of vaccination among the state’s 105 counties: Geary, 81%; Johnson, 80%; Graham, 79%; Jackson, 70% and Brown, 67%. The lowest rates of vaccination by county: Neosho, 30%; Elk, 37%; Linn, 38%; Sheridan and Riley, both 40%.

The lowest infection rates among Kansas counties per 100,000 population: Stevens, 10 per 100,000; Gray, 12; Stanton, 14; Hamilton, 17; and Ottawa, 20. Highest infection rates by county: Wabaunsee, 161 per 100,000; Harper, 155; Woodson and Chautauqua, 132; and Allen, 125.

Physician Chris Brown, a hospitalist at the University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City, Kansas, said people should pay attention to symptoms of COVID-19 and seek medical assistance before the virus had time to cause serious illness. Common symptoms include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, loss of smell or taste, sore throat, congestion, nausea and diarrhea.

Last week, KUHS was treating 64 people with the active COVID-19 virus. Only three of those patients had received a vaccination for coronavirus.

“Listen to evidence-based medicine,” Brown said. “Get vaccinated. Get your booster.”

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2021/12/27/kdhe-reporting-10000-delta-cases-two-dozen-omicron-cases-of-covid-19-in-kansas/

Kansas lawmakers question short-term payments in strongly backed 24/7 state facility pay initiative

by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — While state hospital and corrections leaders are touting a new pay initiative aimed at a growing staffing crisis in facilities across the state, some lawmakers are questioning the viability of temporary pay increases.

Under Gov. Laura Kelly’s plan, state employees at 24/7 facilities in the Kansas Department of Corrections, state hospitals under the Department for Aging and Disability Services, and the Kansas Commission of Veterans Affairs Office veteran’s homes would receive long-term and temporary pay increases. The initiative includes a permanent base pay increase and temporary pay differentials — extra compensation for employees during staffing shortages.

KDOC secretary Jeff Zmuda said the initiative could prove crucial at a time when shortages are reaching unseen levels. He said staff at the El Dorado and Lansing facilities have been working 12-hour shifts since the latter part of July. Of the first 23 weeks of the fiscal year, vacancies have increased in 21 weeks.

“We’ve traditionally struggled to recruit and retain a workforce in corrections, but recently we’ve reached a tipping point and are seeing vacancies at a level I’ve not seen in my entire career,” Zmuda told lawmakers Monday on the Legislative Budget Committee, led by Rep. Troy Waymaster, R-Bunker Hill. “Fatigue and current compensation continued to contribute to the rise in the number of vacancies and uniform positions.”

As of Dec. 13, KDOC has 458 vacant uniform officer positions and 68 vacant non-uniform positions in correctional facilities. States across the country are experiencing similar challenges to the department of corrections and some — like Nebraska, Florida and Arkansas — have implemented pay plan designed to address these shortages.

The primary piece of the Kansas initiative is a base pay increase for all KDOC job classes and nursing jobs. There will also be four additional, temporary pay increases for 24/7 facility staff, KDOC security staff at these facilities, nursing staff at 24/7 facilities and all staff working at these facilities when staffing reaches critical levels.

There will also be a one-time $3,500 bonus for salaried staff at KDOC, KDADS and KCVAO 24/7 facilities. The base-pay increases were phased in starting Nov. 28, following approval from the State Finance Council.

“With the temporary increases it puts us in a good competitive place for introductory new nurses right out of school with little experience compared to other health care employers in the Greater Kansas City or eastern Kansas market that we’re trying to recruit from,” said Scott Bruner, deputy secretary of hospitals and facilities for KDADS.

The total cost of the plan would be $30.3 million in 2022 and could cost about $60 million in 2023.

While legislators supported the intent of the plan and the need for such action, some committee members from both sides of the aisle expressed concerns about the temporary pay increases.

“I have my doubts whether it’ll ever go away, totally, because it’s just hard to give someone that big of a pay increase when you’re talking 4, 5 or 6, even $8 an hour and they have it for a few months or a year and then it goes away,” said Rep Kyle Hoffman, R-Coldwater. “I’m not saying it doesn’t need to be done, but to say it’s temporary is maybe a little bit of a fallacy.”

“Is it being clearly communicated to all the employees that this impacts, so there’s not an expectation?” said Rep. Kathy Wolfe Moore, D-Kansas City, Kansas. “Because the last thing we’d want to happen is for the rug to be pulled out from under them.”

While the base pay increase was initiated with existing agency funds, ensuring the rest is paid will require legislative budget cooperation.

Adam Proffitt, state budget director, said communication with facility directors was underway to ensure there was no confusion about the temporary differential pay. He said the plan left wiggle room to reevaluate down the line.

“The base pay we felt was warranted and needed, so we made a quick action. That is now the new state market for salaries in these positions,” Proffitt said. We didn’t want to have a wild swing and make all the other differentials permanent today, not knowing what the market is going to bring and not knowing what the staffing levels are going to bring in six to 12 months.”

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2021/12/22/kansas-lawmakers-question-short-term-payments-in-strongly-backed-24-7-state-facility-pay-initiative/.