The program is funded by the Oil Region Alliance and is being implemented through a partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund, Penn State Extension and the Department of Environmental Protection.
4 Workshops
Learn how you may be eligible to receive the $100/well bounty by attending one of four workshops from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. on these dates--
-- Venango County: June 26: Venango County Extension Office, 867 Mercer Road, Franklin. Click Here to register;
-- Clarion County: July 23: Trinity Point Church of God, 180 West Trinity Drive, Clarion;
-- Crawford County: July 24: Crawford County Extension Office, 1099 Morgan Village Road, Suite A, Meadville; and
-- Mercer County: July 28: Mercer County Extension Office, 463 North Perry Highway, Mercer.
At these workshops you will learn how to identify and report these often hidden hazards.
Discover what orphaned wells look like, why they matter, and how you can help protect your land and community.
Since the 1800s, more than 760,000 oil and gas wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania-- many without documentation or regulation.
Today, an estimated half a million orphaned and abandoned wells remain unaccounted for, posing serious risks to both people and the environment.
Click Here to download a flyer on the $100/well bounty program.
How It Works
After an individual reports an abandoned well, the landowner's address will be compared to the existing map of abandoned wells through DEP.
If the number of wells reported on the property comes back different, a time will be scheduled to come out with the landowner and visit the well site.
During this visit, a Penn State Extension Educator will take pictures of the well to document its condition, as well as GPS coordinates.
This information will be provided to DEP. After DEP is contacted, the landowner can schedule a time with DEP to visit the wells.
DEP will determine if the well needs to be plugged by a risk assessment based on the risk to human safety and the environment.
Wells with a greater risk will take priority over the lower-risk wells.
For more information on the $100/well bounty, or how to report abandoned wells, please contact Dan Brockett, dlb14@psu.edu or Summer Boyle at sqw5805@psu.edu.
Visit the Penn State Extension website to learn more about many other educational opportunities.
[Editor’s Note: Conventional oil and gas wells continue to routinely be abandoned by well owners and there is no indication abandonment will stop anytime soon. So far in 2025, DEP has issued 228 notices of violation for conventional well abandonment and 49 violations for abandoning shale gas wells. Read more here.
[In 2024, DEP issued 860 new or continued violations to conventional oil and gas well owners for abandoning and not plugging their wells.
[In 2023, DEP issued 512 violations to conventional well owners for abandonment.
[In 2024, 47 violations were issued or continued to 12 shale gas well owners for abandoning and not plugging their wells.
[In 2023, DEP issued or continued 20 violations to 10 shale gas well owners for abandoning and not plugging their wells. Read more here.]
Resource Link:
-- Penn State Extension: Rusty Relic Or Disaster Waiting To Happen: Oil & Gas Wells Abandoned By Conventional Well Owners
Upcoming Extension Events
June 10-- Penn State Extension:Tap Talk: The Susquehanna River Fish Assemblage, Collusion Tap Works, York, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
June 10-- Virtual. Penn State Extension (10 of 10) Pennsylvania Forests Webinar Seminar Series - The Use of Slash Walls to Exclude Deer and Regenerate Native Forest Tree Species. Noon and 7:00 p.m.
June 12-- Penn State Extension Master Gardeners Of Cumberland County Hosts 6-Part Gardening With Nature Workshop Series - Trees for Climate Change
June 12-- Lancaster Master Watershed Stewards Waterways On Wheels Bike Tour. Northwest Lancaster County River Trail. 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.
June 16-- Virtual. Penn State Extension Community Forestry Webinar On Resolving Tree-Sidewalk Conflicts. Noon.
June 24-- Virtual. Penn State Center For Agricultural Conservation Assistance Training Webinar On The Pennsylvania Right To Farm Law. Noon.
June 25-- Virtual. Penn State Extension Pennsylvania Harmful Algal Blooms Webinar. Noon to 1:00 p.m.
June 26-- In-Person. Penn State Extension Hosts Workshop On Finding Oil & Gas Wells Abandoned By Conventional Well Owners; $100/Well Bounty Available, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
July 2-- Virtual. Penn State Extension Webinar On PFAS 'Forever Chemicals' In Private Wells - Key Influencing Factors, 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
July 9-- Virtual. Penn State Extension Wednesday Water Series Webinar - Hard Water Issues. 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
July 10-- Virtual. Penn State Master Watershed Stewards Host Webinar Ahead Of Statewide Native Tree And Shrub Sale. 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
July 10-- Penn State Extension Master Gardeners Of Cumberland County Hosts 6-Part Gardening With Nature Workshop Series - Xeriscape Gardening
July 11-- Virtual. Penn State Forestry Experts Host Webinar On Habitat Restoration As Part Of A Long-Term Strategy To Control Invasive Species. 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
July 14-- Virtual. Penn State Extension Hosts Webinar On Community Science Tool To Track Stream Health. Noon to 1:00 p.m.
July 16-- Virtual. Penn State Extension Hosts Webinar On Uses And Benefits Of Rain Barrels. Noon to 1:00 p.m.
July 30-- Virtual. Penn State Extension Wednesday Water Series Webinar - Understanding Your Home Water Test Results. 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
July 31-- In-Person. Penn State Extension Workshop On Improving Equine Pasture Quality, York County
August 6-- Virtual. Penn State Extension Wednesday Water Series Webinar - Home Water Treatment Basics. 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
August 14-- Penn State Extension Master Gardeners Of Cumberland County Hosts 6-Part Gardening With Nature Workshop Series - For The Love Of Groundcovers
August 21-- Virtual. Penn State University To Host Online Solar Law Symposium
September 11-- Penn State Extension Master Gardeners Of Cumberland County Hosts 6-Part Gardening With Nature Workshop Series - Soil Health and Sustainable Gardening.
September 25-- Penn State Extension Dive Deeper Summit For Water Educators. Harrisburg.
October 15-- Penn State Extension Hosts Pest Biocontrol School Oct. 15 In Lancaster County. Two sessions 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - June 14 [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 96 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In June 14 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- DEP’s Oil & Gas Advisory Board Meets June 25 On Well Development Pipelines; Wastewater Management Practices; Future Well Plugging Funding Needs [PaEN]
-- PA Senate Republicans Pass Bill To Roll Back Environmental, Health, Safety Regulations By Doing Nothing And Avoiding Accountability [PaEN]
-- Delaware River Frack Ban Coalition Launch Initiative To Defend The Delaware River Watershed From Oil & Gas Fracking [PaEN]
-- Plum Borough Zoning Hearing Board Voted To Deny Penneco Environmental's Application For Another Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In Allegheny County [PaEN]
-- Protect PT, Partners To Host June 25 Webinar: 5 Years Later - A Progress Report On PA's Grand Jury Report On Fracking [PaEN]
-- $100/Well Bounty Established For Previously Unknown Oil & Gas Wells Abandoned By Conventional Well Owners Under New Program Funded By Oil Region Alliance; 4 Penn State Extension Workshops Set [PaEN]
-- 25 Environmental Groups; Local Government Associations Oppose House Bill To Fast Track Large-Scale Energy Generation, Storage Projects Proposed By Gov. Shapiro [PaEN]
-- Lead Counsel On Court Cases Striking Down Provisions In Act 13 To Preempt Local Regulation Of Oil & Gas Operations Raises Concerns About Proposed Legislation Establishing A RESET Board To Site Large Energy Projects [PaEN]
-- Gov. Shapiro Announces Amazon Plans To Invest $20 Billion In Pennsylvania For A.I. Data Center Infrastructure; Amazon Told PUC It Has Net-Zero Carbon Emissions Goal By 2040 [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Air Quality Permit For 72 - 2.5 MW Diesel-Fired Emergency Generators At New Amazon Data Services Data Center In Bucks County [PaEN]
-- PA Trout Unlimited, 17 Other Environmental, Conservation Organizations Expressed Opposition To Proposed DEP Changes To Spill Reporting Requirements [PaEN]
-- Republican Sen. Hutchinson Introduces Bill To Abolish DEP Climate Change, Recycling Fund, Coastal Zone Advisory Committees [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- Rep. Vitali: PA House Environmental Committee Examines Problem Of Abandoned Oil & Gas Wells
-- The Center Square: Higher Plugging Bonds Floated To Help The State’s Abandoned Conventional Well Problem
-- MCall: Is Ban On Fracking In Delaware Watershed At Risk? Advocates Put Out A Call To Action
-- Capital & Main - Audrey Carleton: Pennsylvania Has Failed Environmental Justice Communities For Years; A New Bill Could Change That
-- Inquirer/Capital & Main- Audrey Carleton: Pennsylvania Has Failed Environmental Justice Communities For Years, A New Bill Could Change That
-- Beaver Times/Inside Climate News- Jon Hurdle: PA Fracking Company Surrenders Water Permits, Can’t Get Enough Water Out Of Big Sewickley Creek In Beaver County
-- TribLive: President Coming To Pittsburgh For PA US Senator McCormick’s July 15 PA Energy & Innovation Summit
-- Sen. McCormick: President Coming To July 15 PA Energy Innovation Summit In Pittsburgh
-- The Allegheny Front: Pittsburgh 2030 District Buildings Reduce Carbon Emissions By 50%
-- Observer-Reporter Guest Essay: A Future Fueled By Washington County - By Electra Janis, Washington County Commissioner [Hydrogen Hub]
-- Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition: Read The Letters Rejected By The Post-Gazette, Inquirer From The Shale Gas Industry
-- Wall Street Journal: US Electric Bills Headed Higher: Forecast Of Hotter-Than-Normal Summer, More Expensive Natural Gas Mean Pricier Power
-- Utility Dive: A.I. Data Centers Could Overwhelm The Electric Grid, Unless They Are Required To Run Their Facilities On New Power Sources, Market Analytics Says
-- Reuters: Data Center Demand To Push US Power Use To Record Highs In 2025-26, EIA Says
-- EarthJustice: 12 Groups File Lawsuit Challenging President Issued Unlawful Exemptions From Mercury, Arsenic Standards For 68 Coal Plants By Email
[Posted: June 10, 2025] PA Environment Digest
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