Approximately 35,000 orphaned oil and gas wells are estimated to exist in New York State, many drilled and abandoned before the existence of modern environmental regulations.
The latest DEC Does What? podcast, produced by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), spotlights the work of their Division of Mineral Resources, which address the threats that unplugged oil and gas wells have on the environment and public safety across New York State.
In this episode, hosts DEC Chief of Staff and Deputy Commissioner for Equity and Justice Adriana Espinoza and Region 4 Director Sean Mahar talk with Grace Gallagher and Nathan Graber from DEC’s Oil and Gas Compliance Enforcement Section about New York State’s progress to identify, prioritize, and plug abandoned wells.
They also cover how drone technology helps locate high priority orphaned gas wells leaking methane into the environment and ways DEC engages with New Yorkers to search for abandoned wells on their property.
Grace and Nathan also share memorable well-plugging projects they were involved with, including an orphaned well leaking gas and vegetation-killing brine in Rome, Oneida County, and two abandoned wells drilled in the 1870s for a now-demolished hotel located on an island on the Susquehanna River in Tioga County.
All episodes of “DEC Does What?!” are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Amaz
Read more about the history of New York’s Oil and Gas Industries.
Illustration: O. P. Taylor’s Triangle #1 oil well near Petrolia, NY, taken on June 12, 1879. This was the first successful oil well in Allegany County.
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