Oil or gas well on or near the subject property

An oil or gas well stands on the subject property or near it: producing, idle, abandoned or plugged. A well is a feature the site visit looks for, and crude oil and natural gas are petroleum products as the standard defines them. Whether there is a recognized environmental condition (REC) depends on four things: where the well is and what goes with it, whether a release is known or likely, what its status and plugging record show, and, for a well off the subject property, where it lies and what lies between.

What the answer turns on

Where the well is, and what goes with it. The site visit looks for wells, and the standard's list names injection wells, abandoned wells and other wells (E1527-21, 9.4.27). Establish whether the well is on the subject property, on an adjoining property or farther off (E1527-21, 3.2.4). Establish what stands or stood with it: storage tanks, drums, and pits, ponds or lagoons, which the standard defines as depressions likely to hold liquid or sludge that contains hazardous substances or petroleum products (E1527-21, 3.2.64, 9.4.12, 9.4.15, 9.4.22). Oklahoma's commission says spills most commonly involve crude oil, condensate, salt water and drilling mud (Oklahoma).
Whether a release is known or likely. Crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids are petroleum products under the standard's definition, and petroleum products are within the practice although the federal cleanup law's definition of a hazardous substance leaves them out (E1527-21, 1.1.2, 3.2.36, 3.2.61). The standard's appendixes are nonmandatory. The appendix on non-scope issues gives methane as an example of substances, occurring naturally or through biological digestion, that are outside the practice where the federal cleanup law does not define them as hazardous substances; the standard gives no test for telling such gas from natural gas; its legal background appendix cites a 1986 agency memorandum on methane release sites (E1527-21, X6.10, X1.1.4.3, footnote 66). Where no release is on record, the question is a likely release. Appendix X4 calls that opinion subjective; its factors include the features, conditions or operations involving petroleum products, how long they lasted, and the period in which they ran, for example one when management practices or regulatory oversight may have been lacking (E1527-21, X4.1). The REC definition also covers petroleum products present where conditions make a future release a material threat (E1527-21, 3.2.52, 3.2.73).
What its status and plugging record show. The standard does not define an active, abandoned, orphan or plugged oil or gas well and sets no test by status. Pennsylvania's agency says the materials and techniques once used to plug wells are inadequate by today's standards (Pennsylvania). West Virginia's says many wells were abandoned without being properly plugged (West Virginia). Establish who drilled and operated the well and when, whether it was plugged and under what program, and whether a spill or complaint is on record.
Where it lies, and what lies between. For a well off the subject property, Appendix X4 says a REC cannot lie off the subject property, though an off-site release can cause one. Its factors for likely presence include where the source lies and the topography, geology and hydrogeology, its example being up-gradient in sandy soils with shallow groundwater (E1527-21, X4.1). In the body of the standard, where the site visit points to a likely release at a nearby property that may migrate, the setting is evaluated for whether a REC at the subject property likely results (E1527-21, 9.4.6).

The records that bear on it

Well records. State oil and gas well records are not among the standard government record sources (E1527-21, 8.2.2, Table 2). Additional state and local records are checked when the environmental professional judges them reasonably ascertainable, useful enough, and generally obtained in local practice (E1527-21, 8.2.4).
History. Aerial photographs and topographic maps are standard historical resources. Uses of the subject property are identified back to its first developed use or to 1940, whichever is earlier, and a developed use need not involve structures (E1527-21, 8.3.4.1, 8.3.4.4, 8.3.8).
Site visit and interviews. The visit looks for stained soil or pavement, stressed vegetation and odors (E1527-21, 9.4.13, 9.4.23, 9.4.24). Adjoining properties and the surrounding area are observed from the subject property and from public thoroughfares (E1527-21, 9.2.5). The owner, key site manager and user are asked for environmental permits, underground injection permits among them, and for reports of cleanups (E1527-21, 10.8.1).

What the federal rule says

What the inquiry rule is meant to find:

conditions indicative of releases and threatened releases of hazardous substances on, at, in, or to the subject property

40 CFR 312.20(e), edition revised as of July 1, 2025

Terms the rule does not define take their meaning from the federal cleanup law or the National Contingency Plan (40 CFR 312.10(a)). That plan's definition of a hazardous substance ends:

The term does not include petroleum, including crude oil or any fraction thereof which is not otherwise specifically listed or designated as a hazardous substance in the first sentence of this paragraph, and the term does not include natural gas, natural gas liquids, liquified natural gas, or synthetic gas usable for fuel (or mixtures of natural gas and such synthetic gas).

40 CFR 300.5, edition revised as of July 1, 2025

How it is written up

A well on the subject property is described in the report as a site visit feature, whether or not it becomes a finding (E1527-21, 9.4). It becomes a finding when the professional judges it may indicate presence or likely presence at the subject property, and the opinion reasons for or against calling it a REC (E1527-21, 12.5, 12.6).

Where the professional concludes petroleum products or hazardous substances from the well, or from what goes with it, are present or likely present at the subject property, the opinion gives the grounds: what is there, the release or why one is likely, the status and plugging record, position and setting. Unless judged a de minimis condition or a historical REC, the REC is listed in the Conclusions, and the professional should give an opinion on additional investigation, if any (E1527-21, 3.2.20, 3.2.39, 12.7, 12.8).

Where the professional concludes otherwise, the opinion gives its reasoning on the same four facts (E1527-21, 12.6).

Observation of part of the subject property on the site visit, or an interview with the key site manager, may be what cannot be had. Required information that good faith efforts could not obtain is a data gap, significant if it affects the ability to identify a REC: named in the Findings with the sources consulted, discussed in the Opinions and listed in the Conclusions (E1527-21, 3.2.19, 3.2.78, 12.5.1, 12.6.2, 12.7).

Adjoining or nearby property
Likely release and likely presence
Aboveground storage tank on the subject property
Staining on pavement or soil
Septic system, cesspool or dry well
Vapor in a Phase I
REC, CREC, HREC or de minimis condition
Data gap or significant data gap
Well records by state: Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia
Oil and gas spills and cleanups: Oklahoma, Texas
State spill reports: Oklahoma, Texas
Injection wells by state: Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia
Pipelines, power lines and oil and gas wells near an FHA multifamily property

This page is general reference for environmental professionals. It does not classify any property. ASTM E1527-21 is the standard and is not reproduced here; the judgment of the environmental professional on the facts governs.