PA Environment Digest Blog: Well Done Foundation Completes Plugging 15 Orphan Conventional Oil & Gas Wells In PA, Delivering $2.25 Million In Value To Taxpayers

The Well Done Foundation has now plugged 15 orphaned oil and gas wells across Pennsylvania.

Together the nonprofit has eliminated more than 700,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) emissions and delivered an estimated net present value of $2,250,000 to Pennsylvania taxpayers.

Every one of these wells was the state's responsibility. WDF raised the money to plug them through private donations, corporate support, and community fundraising.

The emissions eliminated equal taking more than 163,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road for a year.

"Pennsylvania has been drilling for oil and gas for more than 150 years, and the bill for that history is sitting in people's backyards, trailer parks, and summer camps," said Curtis Shuck, founder and chairman of the Well Done Foundation. "Fifteen wells plugged without asking taxpayers to foot the bill is a big deal. But there are hundreds of thousands more out there, and we can't do it alone."

WDF's Pennsylvania work began in September 2021 with Seneca Resources Company LLC.

Its first adopted well was the Russell M. Clark Estate #11, a legacy oil well in Bradford Township, McKean County, drilled in the late 1800s.

The state had been responsible for it since the early 1990s.

Next came the Warrant 3489 Johnston & Mathews #1, which sat in a residential neighborhood in the City of Bradford.

Many of WDF's Pennsylvania wells sat right where people live, work, and play:

-- Bear Run 001 (Erie County): an undocumented gas well found in a mobile home park, just 15 feet from a family's home. Plants & Goodwin plugged it in February 2023, with support from the Project Canary Foundation, Well Done Global, and many individual donors. That one well eliminated 23,746 metric tons of CO₂e, and the project was featured in the National Geographic channel series “How Do They Fix That?”

-- Martha Smith #1 (Waterford Township, Erie County): plugged in 2022 partnering with Plants & Goodwin (P&G), with support from the French Creek Valley Conservancy and Diane MacEachern’s COOL Birthday fundraising campaign.

-- 2624 W. 25th Street #001 and Grasshopper #001 (Mill Creek Township, Erie County): two wells near homes with methane readings above 172,500 ppm and 123,300 ppm. WDF plugged them in collaboration with Mill Creek Township and PADEP.

-- Camp Elliott 1 (Volant, Lawrence County): a leaking well on the grounds of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Camp, close to the children, staff, and waterways the camp serves. WDF installed a permanent stream crossing that the camp will keep using after the plugging was finished.

-- Sorce 001 (Mill Creek Township, Erie County): an orphaned well hidden for decades under a concrete manhole behind an abandoned motel, on land the township had bought for redevelopment. Its original operator died in 2002, and no one had taken responsibility for it since.

WDF plugged it in June 2025 in collaboration with PADEP, confirmed zero emissions after closure, and restored the site with native seed so the township can move ahead with its plans. At 236,036 metric tons of CO₂e, it's WDF's single largest emission reduction in Pennsylvania.

The newest well in the count, 101 Cannel Mine Road #1 in Armstrong County, was plugged in late September 2026.

Students in the Dice Club at Pittsburgh's Taylor Allderdice High School adopted the well and raised money toward plugging it, and Governor Josh Shapiro recognized their effort.

WDF's general fund covered the rest of the cost.

"These students didn't just study the problem. They raised money and helped fix it," Shuck said. "That's the model: communities, companies, and donors stepping up so that taxpayers aren't stuck with the bill."

WDF works closely with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) on each project, from adopting the well through the plugging certificate.

WDF also checks every plugged site after closure. Annual post-plug inspections were recently completed on the Erie County, Metcalf, and Bucyrus Erie wells.

WDF is lining up more Pennsylvania wells for 2027. To support the next one, visit the Well Done Foundation website or. #onewellatatime

Click Here for the Well Done Foundation announcement.

(Photo: Situated in a trailer park, and only 15 feet from a residence, this undocumented orphaned well symbolizes the complex relationship between natural resource extraction and environmental stewardship. The Bear Run 001 was plugged in February 2023.)

PA Oil & Gas Industry, Public Notice Dashboards:

PA Weekly Oil & Gas Compliance Snapshot - October 17 to 23

-- DEP - Day 119: Contaminated Water Discharges Continue, Failure To Comply With Cleanup Order At Equitrans Water SVC [EQT] Richter Impoundment In Greene County [PaEN]

-- DEP: Routine Inspections Find 16 Anderson Energy SVC LLC Conventional Wells Abandoned, Not Plugged In Forest County [PaEN]

-- DEP: Follow-Up Inspections Of 4 Michael Harju Conventional Wells Found They Continue To Be Abandoned, Not Plugged Going Back To 2020 In Westmoreland County [PaEN]

-- DEP: Routine Inspections Find 3 Keystone Crude LLC Abandoned, Unplugged Conventional Gas Wells In Allegheny County [PaEN]

-- DEP: Equitrans LP [EQT] Conventional Well Plugging Results In Multiple Spills, Inadvertent Returns, Failure To Comply With Permits In Greene County [PaEN]

-- DEP: Bialy Gas Production Intent To Plug Abandoned Conventional Well Leads To Discovery Of Severely Corroded Contaminated Water Tanks With Holes, Leaking Fluids In Beaver County [PaEN]

-- DEP: EQT Production Site Prep For Well Plugging Leads To Significant Well Pad, Access Road Erosion Violations In Fayette County [PaEN]

-- DEP: Contaminated Water Tank Failed Causing Release At Diversified Production LLC Conventional Oil & Gas Well Site In Warren County [PaEN]

-- DEP: Contaminated Water Release Discovered At Deer Run Oil & Gas LLC Conventional Oil & Gas Well Site In Crawford County

-- DEP - Day 645: First Amer Energy Inc. Failed To Comply With Order To Restore 3 Conventional Oil & Gas Well Sites In Warren County [PaEN]