A recent tectonic study on the New York City – Philadelphia area revealed that there is much more seismic activity in the area than previously thought. The findings, which appear in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, are authored by researchers at the Earth Institute at Colombia University.

Although New York City is usually less exposed to big earthquakes, the study did find a new active fault line that runs from Stamford, Connecticut, to Peekskill, New York, and intersects another fault line. Atop of this intersection is none other than the Indian Point nuclear power plant.

However, even though the chances for a high magnitude earthquake are smaller than in California for example, the overwhelming concentration of population and infrastructure here would result in a disaster if such an earthquake would occur.

By analyzing the last 34 years of seismological activity in the area, scientists found potentially powerful structures that suggest dynamics never before seen.

“The research raises the perception both of how common these events are, and, specifically, where they may occur,” lead author Lynn R. Sykes said in a statement. “It's an extremely populated area with very large assets.”

Indian Point is currently under a lot of controversy. Last year, Governor Eliot Spitzer, New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, and Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano announced the submission of papers to deny the relicensing of the Indian Point nuclear power plant.

“Indian Point is situated at the intersection of the two most striking linear features marking the seismicity and also in the midst of a large population that is at risk in case of an accident,” researchers say in the paper. “This is clearly one of the least favorable sites in our study area from an earthquake hazard and risk perspective.”

Elegy, who owns Indian Point, is now fighting for relicensing the operating plant for an additional 20 years. However, despite the general dissatisfaction with the power plant, it appears that the panel rejected the state's arguments against Elegy.