HARRISBURG — With the results of a new study and development of an interactive mapping tool, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has taken what it calls a major step toward identifying environmental impacts and addressing potential public safety concerns related to abandoned oil and gas wells drilled over the past 150 years.
“Pennsylvania’s history of natural gas extraction predates permitting regulations enacted in 1955, and that legacy has hampered the proper decommissioning of wells,” said DEP Acting Secretary Patrick McDonnell. “Even now, these historical wells may go unnoticed. Residents may live near a well without realizing it, assuming the well site is part of the landscape.”
Wells may no longer be active, but stray gas can migrate into the atmosphere or water supplies, creating a safety or environmental hazard.
Due to Pennsylvania’s lack of permitting regulations prior to 1955, DEP’s maps of these historical wells are inconclusive, a weakness that was validated during a recently published field study of 207 randomly selected wells in western Pennsylvania, where most oil and gas drilling has taken place. The study assessed well integrity, methane gas emissions and other potential problems.
Seventy-one wells couldn’t be located using information in DEP’s database. Of the 136 wells located, only eight were emitting methane to the atmosphere at various rates, including one that showed higher-than-anticipated volume. The DEP said this well and four others have operators associated with them, and the agency is taking steps to update records and evaluate compliance options.
McDonnell emphasized how important it is for the public to be aware of historical wells.
“Public collaboration in identifying wells is very helpful to our efforts to update data, make the information publicly accessible and, most important, mitigate risks,” he said.
In a new video, DEP staff explain the risks and the department’s work to tackle them.
If no responsible party can be identified for a well, DEP assumes responsibility for plugging. However, available funding levels fall far short of needs. Conservative estimates indicate that as many as 200,000 wells may need to be plugged, at a cost that could approach more than $8 billion. DEP is actively seeking additional funding to support further work on this front.
Property owners who discover a well on their property should contact DEP at (888) 723-3721 or visit DEP’s abandoned and orphaned well web site to ensure that the well has been properly identified, and any potential environmental issues are addressed.
