Groundcheck now checks for documented unplugged orphaned oil and gas wells within one mile of properties in 27 covered states. The screen uses a U.S. Geological Survey compilation built from state agency records and keeps the mapped well points available in the report.
A nearby record can matter to environmental review, groundwater questions, site layout, construction planning, and coordination with the state regulator. It is an early due-diligence signal, not proof that a well is leaking, contaminating the property, still unplugged, or the owner's responsibility.
What the USGS dataset contains
USGS assembled 117,672 documented unplugged orphaned wells from the agencies responsible for oil and gas records in 27 states. Records can include an API number or other identifier, well name and number, type, status, county, state, source agency, source-file date, and mapped coordinates.
The compilation represents conditions reported through 2022. State definitions and source dates vary, and some locations were converted from descriptive land references when coordinates were unavailable. Groundcheck preserves that context instead of presenting the service's newer edit date as the age of the inventory.
How Groundcheck uses it
For a property in a covered state, Groundcheck queries the USGS point layer within one mile of the saved lookup coordinate. It sorts documented wells by distance, shows useful state-source details, and adds the returned points to the finding map.
A complete query with one or more matches receives moderate concern. A complete query with no matches receives low concern with wording limited to the 2022 compilation. A service failure or unusable response stays unknown so an outage cannot become a false negative.
What a nearby record can and cannot say
One mile is a consistent screening radius, not a regulatory setback, contamination boundary, groundwater-flow model, or measure of responsibility. Distance alone cannot show whether a well leaks, whether it was plugged after 2022, or whether a proposed project needs specific work.
If a report shows a match, compare the mapped location with the parcel and likely project area. Then ask the responsible state agency to confirm the current well status, coordinate accuracy, plugging record, and any investigation or construction requirements that apply.
- Confirm the identifier and source-file date with the state regulator.
- Do not treat the mapped point as a surveyed well location.
- Ask an environmental professional whether the project calls for site-specific review.
- Keep the screening result with title, environmental, and construction due diligence.
Coverage and age are part of the result
The layer covers Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Groundcheck omits the check elsewhere rather than implying a clean national result.
Documented wells are only a subset of all wells, and records can be incomplete or imprecise. Use the layer to recognize a question sooner. Current regulator files, field investigation, surveys, environmental work, and qualified professional advice remain necessary when the issue could affect a transaction or design.
Use the new layer
Check the property you are considering
Groundcheck combines this source with parcel details and other available national, state, and local layers.
Start a property check See every Groundcheck data layerGroundcheck provides early public data screening, not a legal, engineering, surveying, environmental, planning, permitting, or buildability determination. Verify important findings with the responsible agencies and qualified professionals.