{"id":108255,"date":"2024-12-19T18:03:30","date_gmt":"2024-12-19T18:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/abandoned-oil-and-gas-wells-in-us-bring-fears-of-leak-dangers-abc-news-investigation-finds\/"},"modified":"2024-12-19T18:03:30","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T18:03:30","slug":"abandoned-oil-and-gas-wells-in-us-bring-fears-of-leak-dangers-abc-news-investigation-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/abandoned-oil-and-gas-wells-in-us-bring-fears-of-leak-dangers-abc-news-investigation-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Abandoned oil and gas wells in US bring fears of leak dangers, ABC News investigation finds"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
This illustration shows the locations where ABC News tested abandoned oil and gas wells for leaks; ABC News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(WEST TEXAS, Texas) — Rancher Laura Briggs rises early to care for the livestock scattered across her homestead on the arid plains of West Texas. Briggs and her husband saved up for years to purchase the land and build their family\u2019s dream home near the Pecos River.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a lifestyle choice to raise our kids rurally in the hopes that they would appreciate nature and where their food comes from and hard work and the other side of life that\u2019s not so easy,\u201d Briggs, a mother of four, told ABC News. \u201cIt could have been so much better without the fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cfight\u201d that Briggs says has come to dominate her life in recent years centers around the 30-plus abandoned oil and gas wells littered across her ranch and left to rot by their former operators. She knew the inactive wells were on the land when she bought it, but what she didn\u2019t expect to find was that some were leaking and no one was taking responsibility for the cleanup.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought the state regulated this stuff. I never thought that this would be allowed to go on,\u201d Briggs said.<\/p>\n

As a result, Briggs\u2019 dream of a bucolic ranch life has instead been marred by animals found covered in oil, concerns for her groundwater and air quality, and even the looming threat of a random explosion.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy biggest fear is that I have a catastrophe close to my house. We have some wells close to the house and we don’t know what’s going on underground,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

More than 3.5 million abandoned oil and gas wells are littered across the United States and an estimated 14 million Americans live within a mile of one of the wells. Those that leak are known in West Texas as \u201czombie wells\u201d and can contaminate groundwater and spew carcinogenic chemicals and potent greenhouse gases into the environment, according to the Department of the Interior. In some cases, the wells have been blamed for home explosions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese wells are a threat to people and livelihoods, and especially kids and older people and people with health problems,\u201d said Adam Peltz, director and senior attorney of the energy program at the Environmental Defense Fund. \u201cWe need to go find them because they’re a problem, not just for the people who live nearby, but for everyone on the planet,\u201d Peltz said.<\/p>\n

Despite the potential risks, few abandoned wells are ever regularly checked for leaks. ABC News, after weeks of research and calls with multiple leading experts in the field, identified the datasets, technology and learned the recommended safety practices before fanning out across the nation with gas detectors to locate and test more than 70 abandoned wells for leaks.<\/p>\n

ABC News partnered with six owned and affiliated stations as part of the reporting project: KABC, KAKE, KFSN, KMGH, KTRK, and WRTV.<\/p>\n

The device used in the investigation can detect hundreds of combustible gases and whether a well is leaking while the test is being conducted, several leading experts confirmed. The device is unable to determine the exact gas type and full scope of any leak over time.<\/p>\n

Studies have shown that leaking abandoned wells typically emit methane — a highly combustible and potent greenhouse gas. But they can also leak carcinogenic benzene, as well as hydrogen sulfide or H2S, an extremely deadly gas that can kill humans even during short exposures.<\/p>\n

In all, 40 out of the 76 wells tested by ABC News across five states were leaking oil or combustible gas when they were tested. Leaking wells were discovered on Kansas farms, beside New York streams, near Colorado schools and along hiking trails just outside of Los Angeles. The team also looked for leaks in the Gulf of Mexico, where more than 14,000 offshore abandoned wells are located. During a boat ride into Trinity Bay, just outside of Houston, the team carefully tested 10 decaying offshore wells and found seven to be leaking combustible gas at the time.<\/p>\n

Billions in Costs to Taxpayers<\/strong><\/p>\n

While abandoned wells have been documented in more than 26 states, no place has more decaying underground pipes than Texas. More than 600,000 of the pipes exist in the state and they are particularly common in the Permian Basin, a prolific oil producing region where Laura Briggs lives.<\/p>\n

ABC News tested five of the abandoned wells closest to Briggs\u2019 home and found two to be leaking oil and combustible gas at the time.<\/p>\n

The wells\u2019 latest operators declared bankruptcy years ago, making them what\u2019s often called an \u201corphan well.\u201d With no viable owner, it\u2019s now left up to the state — and ultimately taxpayers — to pay to plug the abandoned wells, permanently sealing off the holes to stop potential contamination from leaks. Despite years of complaints, Briggs says only three of the 30-plus orphan wells on her land have been plugged by the Railroad Commission of Texas, the state agency responsible for regulating the oil and gas industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’ve been plugged because they leaked so bad, the Railroad Commission literally had to come out and do something,\u201d Briggs said, arguing that the commission often waits until a well suffers a major blowout before committing to plugging the well. Briggs says one of the wells on her property has been leaking oil above ground for nearly 10 years, but the state has so far refused to plug it according to its priority level.<\/p>\n

Texas has more than 8,500 documented \u201corphan\u201d wells and more are added to the list every year. Texas Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright told KTRK in Houston that \u201cwe do not have the money\u201d to plug all of Texas orphan wells but that the agency had \u201cdeveloped a very good system\u201d to prioritize plugging operations for those that leak — adding the commission had plugged 730 wells in 2023.<\/p>\n

Properly plugging a single abandoned orphan well can cost hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of taxpayer dollars in part because the bonds oil and gas companies are required to post before drilling a well are rarely enough to cover the actual cost of plugging it, leaving taxpayers to pick up the rest of the tab. There have been numerous attempts on both the state and federal level to pass laws raising the bonds required by companies to cover plugging costs, but few have passed as they repeatedly face strong opposition from industry trade groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndustry associations will go to legislators and regulators and say you can\u2019t raise these bond amounts. It\u2019ll put us out of business. Don\u2019t make any changes,\u201d Peltz told ABC News.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the problem with that is, well, are we supposed to live with orphan wells? Then why is the public subsidizing this activity? The current arrangement isn\u2019t working so we need to come up with something new,\u201d Peltz said.<\/p>\n

The American Petroleum Institute declined to be interviewed for this report and did not respond to written questions. The institute wrote in a statement to ABC News that \u201cthe proper sealing of oil and natural gas wells is paramount to ensure safety, sustainability, and environmental protection, and API and our member companies are committed to responsible development of our nation\u2019s energy resources from start to finish.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2021, Congress set aside an unprecedented $4.7 billion for plugging abandoned wells nationwide and the money has begun to flow to qualifying state agencies. However, an ABC News data analysis of multiple sources estimates that the cost of plugging most of the nation\u2019s abandoned and unplugged wells could be more than $250 billion and current government funding will only cover plugging costs for about 6% of the nation\u2019s wells.<\/p>\n

‘This ground is dead forever’<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just a few miles from Briggs\u2019 ranch lies one of the most notorious abandoned wells in the nation and a striking example of what can happen if a well is neglected for decades.<\/p>\n

Formed by a leaking well that was drilled in the 1950s, the 60-acre Lake Boehmer can seem like a surreal mirage from a distance: its turquoise waters and salt crusted shores standing in stark contrast to the harsh desert plains it has been flooding with toxic water for decades. The well leaks up to 600 gallons a minute of water that contains arsenic, benzene, hydrogen sulfide and at times has even proven radioactive, according to studies by the local water district.<\/p>\n

Even before coming within sight of the \u201clake,\u201d a visitor is greeted by the potent stench of rotten eggs — a tell-tale sign of deadly hydrogen sulfide gas that ABC News detected during its visit.<\/p>\n

According to state records, the leaking well that created Lake Boehmer was drilled looking for oil in 1951, but the operators later converted it into a water well before abandoning it. As a result, the Texas Railroad Commission has refused to plug it, claiming the responsibility — and hefty price tag — lies with the county water district. The water district argues only the Railroad Commission has the responsibility and the funds required. As the dispute plays out in court the well continues to leak and some worry it could eventually contaminate local aquifers \u2013 the underground rock or sediment that stores water.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s bones all around here, because the birds come and there’s H2S in this water and eventually the gas kills ’em. And so this is where they come to die,\u201d local rancher Schuyler Wight told ABC News.<\/p>\n

Wight\u2019s ranch borders Lake Boehmer and is home to more than 200 orphan wells — many of which are leaking. One abandoned well on his land that he showed ABC News had formed a toxic pool of produced water that stretched down nearby dirt roads. While there, ABC News also detected the presence of deadly H2S gas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis ground is dead forever,\u201d Wight said while looking out over the site. \u201cThis ground will never grow anything on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shortly after ABC News visited the site, state authorities stopped the leak aboveground but Wight worries they haven\u2019t done enough to protect his groundwater or to prevent another blowout from happening again.<\/p>\n

The Wells Buried Beneath America\u2019s Cities<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most abandoned wells are in rural areas like Wight\u2019s, but a surprising number can be found buried beneath America\u2019s cities. Perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than in Los Angeles. Built atop one of the nation\u2019s oldest and most productive oil fields, thousands of abandoned wells lie buried beneath the city\u2019s development, their presence often only revealed by historic photographs and by those who know where to look.<\/p>\n

In the working-class neighborhood of Vista Hermosa, fence posts lining an athletic field are actually methane vents designed to mitigate the risks of more than a dozen abandoned wells buried beneath the field. Three of the wells beneath the field remain unplugged and the vents are designed to discharge potentially harmful gases they can emit away from nearby school buildings into open areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re actually a part of the fence. So they’re camouflaged a little bit,\u201d lifelong resident Danny Luna told ABC News on a tour of the area. For years, Luna and Rosalinda Morales, another lifelong resident, have been advocating for authorities to plug the more than 800 documented abandoned wells located beneath their community — which they believe pose a serious public health threat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of medical conditions here. We have people with autoimmune conditions, cancers,\u201d Morales told ABC News. It is difficult to prove exactly what is causing residents\u2019 health issues in the area, but studies show those living near oil and gas wells are more prone to such illnesses.<\/p>\n

Brenda Valdivia says she has been dealing with illnesses she believes are tied to the area\u2019s wells since she was 10 years old. As a child, Valdivia spent time at the home of a baby-sitter that was directly beside an active oil well. By age 10, she was \u201cgetting really sick. I had high fevers, rash on my face.\u201d Eventually, she says doctors diagnosed her with lupus and told her it was likely caused by environmental factors after testing failed to show she was genetically predisposed to the disease. She suffered two strokes in one night and has spent most of her life in and out of hospitals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m still recovering. And I take it day by day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Rosalinda Morales, an asthma survivor, grew up beside an active well that was later abandoned and says she spent her \u201cwhole life smelling rotten eggs.\u201d For years, Morales\u2019 next-door neighbor complained to authorities of a similar odor emanating from under his front steps. After nothing was done, he ultimately took a jackhammer to the steps and made a startling discovery — an oil well that was emitting potentially deadly H2S gas.<\/p>\n

\u201cPretty scary, because that’s what we’re breathing here,\u201d Morales said. That well, along with another across the street, was eventually plugged by state authorities after it was discovered, but hundreds in the area remain unplugged and mostly buried out of sight.<\/p>\n

On the outskirts of the city, however, some of Los Angeles\u2019 abandoned wells can still be seen up close. ABC News located and tested three abandoned wells found alongside a popular hiking trail in El Escorpion Park and found two to be leaking oil and\/or combustible gas at the time. One of the wells maxed out ABC News\u2019 gas detector with a reading of 10,000 parts per million.<\/p>\n

The device ABC News used does not distinguish which combustible gas it detects and more prolonged testing is required to determine the exact size of the leak. But the New Jersey Department of Health says that exposure to anything over 2,000 parts per million of methane is \u201cimmediately dangerous to life and health.\u201d CalGem, the state agency responsible for regulating the oil and gas industry in California, wrote to ABC News that the department \u201cdoes not permit leaks at any level\u201d from abandoned wells.<\/p>\n

Inspection records show state authorities know that these wells have been leaking for years and, while they are on the state\u2019s latest list for plugging, they are behind dozens of other wells deemed a higher priority for plugging by the agency.<\/p>\n

CalGem, the state agency responsible for regulating the oil and gas industry, wrote to ABC News that they are currently working through a list of 378 wells for plugging and that the wells we tested in El Escorpion Park are a \u201ctop priority\u201d and \u201cwill be plugged and sealed soon to protect the environment and ensure public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, for residents living near the abandoned wells, plugging them cannot come soon enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe solution is to make enough noise that maybe we’ll get some of this stuff fixed,\u201d Wight told ABC News.<\/p>\n

ABC News\u2019 Timmy Truong, Kate Holland and Alex Myers contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This illustration shows the locations where ABC News tested abandoned oil and gas wells for leaks; ABC News (WEST TEXAS, Texas) — Rancher Laura Briggs rises early to care for the livestock scattered across her homestead on the arid plains of West Texas. 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