Retiree tracks Pennsylvania’s abandoned oil wells
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Barbara Laxon, a 74-year-old retiree in Bradford, Pennsylvania, spends her time locating abandoned oil and gas wells and reporting them to state authorities.
After moving to Pennsylvania a decade ago, Laxon joined Save Our Streams, a group dedicated to identifying and plugging these wells. Pennsylvania has an estimated 20,000 to 750,000 abandoned wells, which can leak harmful substances and emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
State law requires well operators to plug wells when they stop production, but companies frequently fail to do so, leaving the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) responsible. The DEP struggles to identify all abandoned wells and secure funding for their removal. Laxon and other advocates have taken on some of this work, documenting wells and sharing their findings with the state. The state has plugged nearly 500 wells over the past five years, but thousands remain.
A 2022 report revealed a “culture of non-compliance” in the industry and noted that companies often fail to report well status, hindering the DEP’s efforts. While Pennsylvania is receiving nearly $400 million in federal funds to address the problem, Laxon expresses skepticism that the money will be used effectively, citing issues with the DEP’s record-keeping and spending. She now focuses on educating others about the problem after a cancer diagnosis limited her ability to conduct fieldwork.
