Unlocking\nSolutions: Innovative Approaches to Identifying\nand Mitigating the Environmental Impacts of Undocumented Orphan Wells\nin the United States

In the United States,\nhundreds of thousands of undocumented orphan\nwells have been abandoned, leaving the burden of managing environmental\nhazards to governmental agencies or the public. These wells, a result\nof over a century of fossil fuel extraction without adequate regulation,\nlack basic information like location and depth, emit greenhouse gases,\nand leak toxic substances into groundwater. For most of these wells,\nbasic information such as well location and depth is unknown or unverified.\nAddressing this issue necessitates innovative and interdisciplinary\napproaches for locating, characterizing, and mitigating their environmental\nimpacts. Our survey of the United States revealed the need for tools\nto identify well locations and assess conditions, prompting the development\nof technologies including machine learning to automatically extract\ninformation from old records (95%+ accuracy), remote sensing technologies\nlike aero-magnetometers to find buried wells, and cost-effective methods\nfor estimating methane emissions. Notably, fixed-wing drones equipped\nwith magnetometers have emerged as cost-effective and efficient for\ndiscovering unknown wells, offering advantages over helicopters and\nquadcopters. Efforts also involved leveraging local knowledge through\noutreach to state and tribal governments as well as citizen science\ninitiatives. These initiatives aim to significantly contribute to\nenvironmental sustainability by reducing greenhouse gases and improving\nair and water quality.