Environmental groups will soon be canvassing six areas of Southwestern Pennsylvania by foot, car, and drone in an effort to find abandoned oil and gas wells.
Western Pennsylvania is the birthplace of the oil and gas industry, and companies drilled for nearly a century before they were required to report the locations of their wells.
The state has documented about 30,000 orphan or abandoned wells, but it’s estimated there could be between 300,000 and 700,000 others that are unknown to regulators, said Adam Peltz, a senior attorney at Environmental Defense Fund.
Old wells pose health and safety risks by leaking pollutants that can contaminate groundwater and impact air quality. Methane contributes to global warming by trapping heat in the atmosphere. The flammable gas can also accumulate in homes and buildings where it creates the risk of explosion.
EDF and Moms Clean Air Force are teaming up with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Department of Energy and McGill University to optimize the process of finding those abandoned wells.
Pennsylvania is getting $400 million from the federal government to clean up old wells, creating momentum for a process that’s so far been slow.
“This project is designed to develop and demonstrate techniques for finding undocumented orphan wells in Western Pennsylvania to ultimately hand over a blueprint to the PA DEP to do this work at scale,” Peltz said.
The groups said they surveyed eight square miles in Clarion and McKean in the first phase of the project and found 250 likely wells.
The next phase is planned for later this summer and will survey Ross Township, Shaler Township, North Fayette Township, and White Oak in Allegheny County and South Strabane Township and Charleroi in Washington County. These places were recommended by DEP as areas that have known fugitive gas emissions without a known source, and a high probability of having undocumented wells.
Meg Coleman, a senior policy analyst with EDF, said the challenge in finding old wells in a built environment is that they may now be buried under buildings or roads.
For the surveys, vehicles outfitted with methane detecting sensors will slowly drive through neighborhoods to identify leaks. Surveyors will follow up on foot with backpack magnetometers — basically a “fancy metal detector,” Peltz said. The devices can locate metal used to build the wells.
Drones with magnetometers will also be used where possible, which could help find wells under buildings or infrastructure. Once found, DEP will confirm locations and assess the risk of each well.
The coalition will use their findings to quantify the emissions coming from abandoned wells.
Matt Dracup, a professional geologist manager with DEP’s Southwest Regional Office, said if drones can help to pinpoint where emissions are coming from, “our mitigation systems can be more effective and last longer.”
The groups will host open house meeting to share information with residents on the following dates:
North Fayette: July 14, 6-9 p.m., North Fayette Community Center
Ross Township: July 15, 6-9 p.m., Synergy Lab at Hackers Guild
South Strabane: July 16, 6-9 p.m., Pennsylvania Trolley Museum
Charleroi: July 17, 6-9 p.m., Off the Wall Arts
More information and recorded webinars can be found on EDF’s website.
