The abandoned well is currently discharging oil into Stackyard Hollow and releasing natural gas into the multi-residential structure.  The release of natural gas is a function of the discharge of oil from the abandoned well.  Therefore, the discharge from the abandoned well poses an imminent and substantial threat to public health and welfare, and in absence of a viable Responsible Party to conduct the actions necessary to protect public health and welfare, federal removal response action are required.

Since September 2014, the OSC has undertaken defensive actions to abate and mitigate the discharge of oil into Stackyard Hollow; has to the extent practicable attempted to identify potentially responsible parties; has consulted with senior lead agency officials and readily available authorities regarding issues outside the OSC’s specific technical expertise; and is currently evaluating options to address the complex threats posed by the incident and to further initiate a plan of action to complete the required federal removal response action.

A facility is described to mean any structure, group of structures, equipment, or device which is used to explore for, drill for, produce, store, handle, transfer, process, or transport oil.

The owner / operator is defined (very simply) to be the owner or operator of a facility including any person owning or operating the facility.  The owner or operator of any abandoned facility is the person who owned or operated the facility immediately prior to its abandonment. 

For an on-shore facility, the Responsible Parties are any persons owning or operating the facility (except for a government owner transferring rights under a lease agreement).  For an abandoned facility (2701(32)(F)), the responsible party is the person who would have been responsible immediately prior to abandonment.

The OSC has conducted effort to identify potentially Responsible Parties for this incident to the extent practicable.

A lease agreement executed May 28, 1910 between Hilton (lessor) and Seybold (lessee) contained, among other things, the following terms and conditions:

1.      One year term and as much longer as oil or gas is found in paying quantities.

2.      A requirement to drill a well within 4 months.

3.      1/8^th part or share of the oil to be paid to the lessor.

4.      The right for the lessor to drill and operate for oil, lay and maintain pipelines, and build structures.

5.      The right to remove, at any time, any machinery, structures, or fixtures placed by the lessor.

All terms and conditions of the lease extend to the heirs, successors, executors, administrators, and assigns of the two parties.

An oil well (“the well”) was installed at the incident location (along Joan Street adjacent to Stackyard Run) sometime prior to June 1911 as referenced in a document conveying 3/4^th interest in the producing well from Seybold (lessor) to Octo Oil Company .   The remaining 1/4^th interest was conveyed to Octo Oil Company in 1913.  The well was subject to the rights, terms and conditions of the 1910 lease agreement. 

The well was part of an on-shore oil and/or gas production facility (“on-shore production facility”).  Other wells which were part of the on-shore production facility were subject to the terms and conditions of other lease agreements.  In 1916, the Octo Oil Company conveyed several wells and the rights under several lease agreements (including the well and relating 1910 lease agreement) to Glenwood Oil and Gasoline Company.

A map of the area dated 1922 depicts several wells along Stackyard Run.   A trustee of the Glenwood Oil and Gasoline Company conveyed the real and personal property of Glenwood Oil and Gasoline Company to A. Schmidt in 1923.  The conveyance included wells and equipment and leases covering several different pieces of land (owned by different landowners), a gasoline plant and station, and several parcels of land.

The primary terms of the various leases and agreements relating to the on-shore production facility were expired by 1921.

In 1923 and 1925, Schmidt sold parts of the former Glenwood Oil and Gasoline Company property (specifically identified as certain parcels of land) to others.  The well is located on one of these parcels.

A map dated 1968 identifies several abandoned wells in the area of Stackyard Run indicating the abandonment of the on-shore production facility (no official record of such activity was required by the State prior to 1929).  The facility was likely abandoned by the early 1920s as the area became a part of the City of Wheeling and was developed for residential use.  Additionally, the primary lease terms and agreements providing the rights to operate for oil along Stackyard Run were expired by 1921.

Documentation to verify the ownership and operational status of the well is scant.  Records were not required by the State until 1929.  The State of West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“WVDEP”) considers the abandoned well oil and/or gas well to be an “orphan” well (e.g. no known or otherwise viable owner/operator).

The well was identified as a producing well in 1911 and was passed to an oil company (Glenwood Oil and Gasoline Company) that may have operated the well in 1916.   The Glenwood Oil and Gasoline Company sold its properties through a trustee in 1923 and that is the likely time period during which the well and the relating on-shore production facility were abandoned.  Other wells in the area have been found to be properly plugged indicating proper actions by the owners/operators.  Wells in the area of Stackyard Run are identified as “abandoned” on a map produced in 1968.  In any event, a building was constructed on top of the remains of the well in 1964 indicating that the remains of the on-shore production facility had already been removed from the land by 1964.

The OSC concludes that the Glenwood Oil and Gasoline Company was likely the last owner/operator of the well/facility and that A. Schmidt was the last specific documented owner of the well/facility (likely abandoned).  The OSC concludes that these entities are potential Responsible Parties.  Glenwood Oil and Gasoline Company no longer exists.  A. Schmidt is deceased.  Persons identified in the will of A. Schmidt are deceased.  The OSC was unable to send a notice to suspected discharger to these entities.

A multi-unit residential structure was constructed over the location of the well in 1964.   Neither the abandoned well nor the abandoned on-shore production facility were appurtenant to the multi-unit residential structure based upon direct observations by the OSC (i.e., not physically or obviously connected in any way).  A formed and poured concrete slab was installed as the foundation for the multi-unit residential structure and this slab was poured directly atop and a few inches from the top of the well providing no access thereto.  The well was abandoned at some point in time prior to the construction of the structure used for residential purposes.

The abandoned well was located within the perimeter of the formed and poured concrete slab.  At the time of the forming and pouring of the concrete slab, the well casing may have been exposed and visible at, above or below the ground surface.  A 6-inch diameter pipe was found below the slab of the building running from the location of the down-gradient side of the abandoned well to (and through the wall of) a box culvert surrounding Stackyard Run.  This pipe may have served to divert any fluids from the well towards and into the nearby perennial stream (a/k/a Stackyard Run; note that the pipe was found without protection and full of dirt and debris as well as oily material).   

The abandoned well is currently discharging oil into Stackyard Run and releasing oil and natural gas into the multi-unit residential structure.  The oil migrates up the well and from unknown locations adjacent to the well (likely a compromised casing) and into the surrounding soils between the well and Stackyard Run.  Some oil also somehow enters the pipe and directly discharges to Stackyard Run. Stackyard Run is a navigable waterway of the United States.

The Person(s) who performed the construction of the multi-unit residential structure, were also likely aware of the existence of the abandoned well.  The slab of the building and the soil drainage pipes from the building are very close to the position of the well.   A section of 6-inch diameter pipe (unknown purpose) was also found running from immediately adjacent to the well (although not connected) towards and through the wall of a box culvert surrounding Stackyard Run.  It appears that the 6-inch diameter pipe may have once served to carry fluids from the location of the well towards Stackyard Run.  This pipe was placed before the slab of the building was poured although there was no precautions taken to assure the pipe remained open resulting in dirt, debris and concrete to be located within.  The 6-inch pipe is not a part of the foundation of the building. 

The constructors of the building in 1964 were likely the last persons to have seen the well prior to it being discovered under the slab of the multi-unit residential structure.  The Person(s) who poured the concrete slab and who may have placed the 6-inch diameter pipe, may have information relating to the abandonment of the well and may have conducted a deliberate action to divert or discharge fluids from the well to Stackyard Run and/or to otherwise fill the wellbore with debris.   The Karnell Company was dissolved in 1967 and its owner, and owner of the subject property on which the building was constructed (N. Karnell) is deceased.  The OSC is unable to send Karnell Company or its owner a notice of suspected discharger.

The property was held by a trust benefitting the wife of N. Karnell until 2003 when it passed to a relative and his company.  The property then passed in 2009 outside the Karnell family.

The current owner of the land and the multi-unit residential structure (since 2011) became aware of the problem(s) associated with the abandoned well sometime in 2013 as oil entered the residential building.  The OSC initiated a preliminary assessment in January 2014.  After investigations suggested the potential for a leaking oil well under the building, the owner of the multi-unit residential structure broke through the concrete slab around the perimeter of the well on the advice of the OSC.  The well was then verified.  The owner, with the advice of the OSC and WVDEP, installed a ventilation system to exhaust volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the well to locations outside the structure to reduce the chance of fire and explosion.

The current owner of the land and multi-unit residential structure states that he was unaware of an oil well on the property until discovered under the building in 2014.  There is no record of the well with the WVDEP.  The deed records for the property do not mention an oil well, oil activity, or relating reservations since 1925.  The well was not mentioned in a title search relating to the property.  The structure has been built over the position of the well since 1964.  The last persons to have likely seen the well were those that constructed the building in 1964.  The OSC does not conclude that the present owner of the structure was an owner or operator of the well or facility defined to be the structure, group of structures, equipment, or device used to explore for, drill for, produce, store, handle, transfer, process, or transport oil.