DEP starting emergency project to plug 2 leaking abandoned gas wells in Allegheny County

SCOTT TOWNSHIP, Pa. — An emergency project to plug two leaking gas wells in Allegheny County gets underway Tuesday.

In a press release, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said crews will work to plug two leaking abandoned natural gas wells along Scrubgrass Road in Scott Township.

To prepare for plugging, crews will first remove trees and possibly flare the wells. Flaring is the controlled burn of natural gas from a well.

The project is expected to take around a month to complete, with the goal of permanently eliminating the potential for the two wells to leak methane.

The DEP said it determined the project was necessary because of increasing methane levels that could migrate into nearby sewer lines through the soil if the well continued to deteriorate. Currently, the wells also increase the risk of gas accumulating to unsafe levels during adverse weather conditions that could prevent dissipation.

The DEP previously performed emergency mitigation in 2019, but methane levels recently increased and officials have gotten odor complaints around the Kane Woods Nature Area.

“Orphaned and abandoned gas wells dot Southwestern Pennsylvania in rural and more populated areas, representing potential threats to human health, safety, and the environment,” said Dan Counahan, director of district oil and gas operations. “We’re mobilizing emergency crews to mitigate this hazard as quickly as possible.”

The DEP is using emergency plugging funds for this project.

Two other wells in the area will be plugged later in the year with Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds.

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