State regulators are keeping limits on a practice associated with fracking until at least mid-March 2016 as part of their efforts to decrease the frequency and size of earthquakes in south-central Kansas.

The Kansas Corporation Commission issued an order Thursday to extend restrictions on the injection of wastewater into the ground by oil and natural gas producers first put in place in March of this year. The limits apply in five earthquake-prone areas in Harper and Sumner counties.

The order says the KCC will revisit the issue in March, but the restrictions will remain without further action.

The restrictions were to expire in September, but the KCC’s staff recommended keeping them after the number and seriousness of earthquakes dropped. The limits remained while the commission considered an extension.