Erie County,
United States of America
In the quiet corners of Erie County, Pennsylvania, nestled within a mobile home park, sat a hidden environmental hazard—an undocumented orphaned well known as Bear Run 001. Located just 15 feet from a family's home, this well had been forgotten for decades, silently leaking dangerous methane gas into the atmosphere and threatening the health and safety of nearby residents. Unseen, unmonitored, and unregulated, Bear Run 001 represented a common but often overlooked risk posed by thousands of orphaned wells scattered across the country.
For the family living in the mobile home, the well was a silent danger. Methane emissions, while invisible and odorless, carry the potential for catastrophic gas leaks or even explosions, not to mention their significant contribution to climate change. With the well so close to their home, the risks were real and immediate. Methane can seep into the soil and water, affecting the land they lived on and the air they breathed. Bear Run 001 was not just an environmental hazard—it was a threat to their way of life.
This is where Well Done Global stepped in. Committed to tackling the pervasive issue of orphaned and abandoned wells, Well Done Global adopted Bear Run 001 through a partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP). The goal was simple yet urgent: to eliminate the well as a source of methane emissions, restore the land, and ensure the safety of the family living nearby.
Bear Run 001’s story is a testament to the importance of addressing the legacy of abandoned wells across the United States. While often invisible and neglected, these wells pose serious risks to both the environment and the communities that live nearby. By sealing Bear Run 001, Well Done Global not only prevented the release of methane—a powerful greenhouse gas—but also restored a sense of safety and security to a family that had been unknowingly living under the shadow of an environmental hazard.