‘A really big Pennsylvania issue’: U.S. House passes bill with fix for uncapped natural gas wells
Thousands of undiscovered and uncapped natural gas wells are peppered across Pennsylvania.
Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would help find and plug those wells.
Congresswoman Summer Lee was a co-sponsor.
“It is a really big Pennsylvania issue,” she told Channel 11. “These gas wells are still leaking gas and some are even leaking Benzene and other cancer-causing pollutants, so it really is a big public health issue.”
According to Lee, there are about 27,000 abandoned or orphaned wells that have been found in Pennsylvania. There are more than 250,000 still to be found.
One well is in Pamela Schrank’s Murrysville backyard.
“We were told it was very old and defunct,” she said of the well. “I was back there hacking vines and weeds with my dog. It was a very hot day and I think it made the fumes stay in one spot. I felt very faint and it was a heavy smell of gas.”
The bill would require the Department of Energy to create and fund a program to find and plug wells.
“It’s a very practical matter that affects just regular people. Doesn’t matter who you vote for. It could be in anybody’s backyard,” Pamela said.
“We don’t have a map or a registry that shows where these wells even exist. Oftentimes, we find them when a homeowner in Westmoreland County or somewhere similar stumbles upon one,” Rep. Lee said.
The Bill now heads to the Senate.
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