Small Team Seals Toxic Wells Industry Left Behind

Curtis Shuck runs toward problems most people never see. His organization, the Well Done Foundation, specializes in plugging abandoned oil and gas wells that leak methane, poison groundwater, and threaten wildlife across America.

The work is brutally hard. In August, Shuck's team worked in 110-degree heat inside Oklahoma's Deep Fork National Wildlife Refuge, surrounded by diesel fumes and escaping gases as they sealed the Doneghy #2 well.

Heavy equipment, cement trucks, and constant machinery noise filled the remote site for days. Yet Shuck's safety supervisor Dominic Morgan says they're fighting the oil industry's old "set it and forget it" attitude, one well at a time.

The scale of the problem is massive. Federal estimates suggest hundreds of thousands of orphaned wells dot the American landscape, some abandoned a century ago with failing seals.

But Shuck has found his calling in the unglamorous work of cleanup. He calls himself "the P.T. Barnum of abandoned wells," navigating between industry contractors and environmental advocates to get the job done.

His organization raises money, applies for grants, and hires specialized contractors who understand the dangerous, dirty work of well remediation. Each sealed well stops methane emissions and protects local water supplies for decades to come.

The Ripple Effect

Well Done's expertise is becoming increasingly valuable as states and federal programs ramp up orphaned well remediation efforts. The foundation's hands-on experience helps train others and refine best practices for this specialized work.

Every plugged well also creates jobs for equipment operators, cement suppliers, and environmental contractors in rural communities where these forgotten sites sit.

Shuck's philosophy keeps his team motivated through the heat, fumes, and physical danger. "Doing the right thing is still the right thing to do," he tells anyone who will listen.