Check for abandoned oil/gas wells before excavating in a legacy production area

Steps

1. In Texas, check the Railroad Commission of Texas's Orphan Well Query tool (webapps2.rrc.texas.gov/EWA/orphanWellQueryAction.do) and public well records search before or during excavation in oil/gas-producing areas to identify known plugged, unplugged, or orphaned wells nearby.
2. If an unrecorded/abandoned well is struck during excavation, stop work in the immediate area and report it to the RRC (or the equivalent state oil and gas regulator), since Texas's state-managed plugging program (active since 1984, now backed by federal IIJA orphan-well funding) exists specifically to plug operator-abandoned wells.
3. Recognize this data and obligation vary sharply by state: Ohio's permitting review considers plugging/casing records for nearby wells, while Pennsylvania's regulations do not require developers to search for or avoid abandoned wells within any set radius before drilling.
4. Before excavating in any state with historical oil/gas activity, check that state's specific regulator for a well-records/orphan-well search tool rather than assuming a uniform national database exists.