In the Wednesday, March 13, edition of the Butler Eagle, we learned about a milestone in Pennsylvania — the plugging of 200 abandoned or orphaned oil and gas wells in a little more than a year.

That’s very good news, because abandoned and orphaned wells that are left unplugged are a serious danger to public health and safety for a host of reasons. And there are a lot of them. Between 300,000 and 760,000 wells have been drilled in the state since oil was first discovered in 1859, and many of those were drilled before modern regulations and safety standards were in place.

According to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, as many as 350,000 abandoned and orphaned wells aren’t accounted for.

Abandoned and orphaned gas and oil wells are wells that are no longer producing and whose owner either isn’t known or no longer exists. Such wells can send methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, into the air, contributing to climate change.

But there are also other, more immediate dangers. When crews are fracking new gas wells, sometimes the fluid from the new well can get into nearby abandoned wells. That can cause natural gas leaks and increase the risk of an explosion.

And the authors of a 2023 study in the journal ACS Omega looked at 48 abandoned wells in Pennsylvania and found risks of dangerous chemicals leaking out.

“We demonstrate that gas from abandoned wells contains VOCs, including benzene; VOCs are emitted from abandoned wells, the magnitude of which depends on the flow rate and concentration of VOCs in the gas stream; and nearly one-quarter of abandoned wells are located within 100 (meters) of buildings, including residences, in Pennsylvania,” the authors wrote. “Together, these observations indicate that further investigation is necessary to determine whether emissions from abandoned wells pose an inhalation risk to people living, working, or congregating near abandoned wells.”

The plugging process involves drilling to the bottom of the well to clear debris and then pouring in multiple concrete plugs to prevent gas or liquid from escaping.

Plugging abandoned and orphaned gas and oil wells is essential for environmental and safety reasons. It’s good to see the state both making progress in its effort to plug such wells and promoting its efforts so more people report wells they know about.

To report an abandoned well, send a text message with a photo and the location to the DEP at 717-788-8990.

— JK