Mountain residents unhappy to discover crude oil in their wells

DORTON, Ky. -- When Rodger and Melissa Bentley noticed that the well at their eastern Kentucky home was filled with a bubbling crude, they didn't exactly run off to tell relatives they had struck it rich.

That's because they found just enough of the oil to foul their only source of potable water and enough natural gas to cause their well house to explode into flames.

"I don't want an oil well," bemoaned Melissa Bentley. "All I want is water for my family."

Such stories have become all too familiar in central Appalachia, where a myriad of holes have been drilled deep beneath the mountains to extract oil and natural gas. Some residents say the oil and gas have seeped into their water wells, ruining them and creating an explosive hazard.

"This is just so outrageous," said Gary Johnson, a Pikeville, Ky., lawyer. "There are thousands of wells in eastern Kentucky that way. It's a problem that there is no end to, basically."

Burned in explosion

Another eastern Kentucky man was severely burned three years ago when his well house exploded. Fairon Johnson of Dema filed suit against Equitable Resources of Pittsburgh, Pa., and its subsidiary Kentucky West Virginia Gas, which had natural gas wells near his home.

Last year, a jury awarded him $270 million, the largest jury verdict ever awarded in Kentucky. The companies appealed and later settled the case for an undisclosed amount.

Fairon Johnson claimed in his lawsuit that the explosive gas traveled through an underground water aquifer and seeped into his well. When he flipped a switch to turn his pump on, the gas exploded.

He received second-degree burns and spent eight days in a hospital burn unit. He has since recovered.

Jeff Eshelman, spokesman for the Independent Petroleum Association of America, which represents oil and natural gas drillers, said it doesn't make sense that natural gas could find its way horizontally through rock strata into a water well.

"Because we drill straight down to reach natural gas, there would seem logically to be no connection between gas wells and water wells," he said.

Attorneys for Equitable Resources and Kentucky West Virginia Gas contended in court that the explosion in Fairon Johnson's water well house on June 5, 2000, was caused by naturally occurring gas and was not related to the nearby gas well. Patrick Kane, spokesman for the companies, didn't return phone calls on Friday.

Johnson said natural gas can seep into water wells when companies remove steel casing from their wells. That, he said, allows waste gas and crude to seep into the fresh water aquifers.

State environmental regulators have recommended safety precautions for rural residents who have water wells. Those precautions include installing ventilation ports in well houses to prevent the accumulation of gases.

The Bentley family has been unable to use their well water since petroleum and gas were discovered in June. They've been drinking bottled water. For laundry, they've connected lines to a temporary tank that the local fire department refills once a week.

Melissa Bentley said she hasn't been able to place blame on a particular company for her water problems. She said several companies have oil and gas wells near her home.

"I don't care who's at fault," she said. "I just want water."