PA DEP Smears Conventional Drillers Regarding Abandoned Well Issue

The vast majority (up to 99%) of Pennsylvania’s abandoned conventional wells are “orphans,” or wells without an identifiable, documented owner whom the state can hold liable for cleanup. Orphan wells date back to the Civil War in some cases. Even with "newer" wells, the problem has been poor recordkeeping by the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (see Plugging PA’s Abandoned & Orphaned Wells is a Hot Mess). Writing in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Elizabeth Stelle, director of policy analysis of the Commonwealth Foundation, makes a strong case that the DEP continues to be the major problem in plugging old wells. Stelle says the DEP should partner with conventional drillers rather than misrepresent them and allow bad-faith actors to smear them.

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