This article is part of our occasional series Life Under Threat, where we share the stories of families whose health has been put at risk by polluting industry, from oil and gas operations to AI data centers to “advanced recycling” plastics incinerators.
The oil and gas industry isn’t the first thing to come to mind when someone says “Michigan.” But on a recent toxic tour hosted by Earthworks, Moms’ Michigan organizer, Elizabeth Hauptman, learned what a serious threat leaky, low-producing oil and gas wells are in her state. Michigan has thousands of active, but low-producing “marginal” wells. These are exactly the type of wells the Trump administration is eyeing for deregulation. They produce 6% of U.S. oil and gas, but nearly half of the industry’s methane emissions, which have much greater climate-warming power than carbon dioxide. They are a particular problem in Bay City, the site of the toxic tour, because it not only sits on a productive geological formation but is also near Lake Huron shipping channels. Here is some of what Elizabeth learned during the tour:
As told to Julie Kimmel by Elizabeth Hauptman:
I attended a toxic tour of low-producing oil and gas wells sites in Bay City—east-central Michigan. For most of the tour, we were in a public park just outside city limits. We parked at Soehnel Nature Trail—a path well-used by local hikers—and directly across the way was a docking station for a well. The gathering pipeline for the well, which feeds unprocessed gas to processing facilities or transmission pipelines, ran right under the nearby wetland, Tobico Marsh.
From the nature trail parking lot, we walked down a road. I would say no less than 250 feet into this nature trail, I started tasting the air. I’ve never tasted pollution like that before. It was like I was eating rotten eggs with a side of roadkill. We could also smell it. Everyone in the group noticed the odor. I started to feel sick almost immediately.
Tell Congress: Hold Zeldin Accountable for Corrupting EPA’s Mission
About 250 feet later, we spotted a well, right there next to the nature trail. Our Earthworks guide had an optical gas imaging (OGI) camera to document leaks that otherwise would be invisible to the eye. The camera showed billowing smoke coming from this well, a type called a “sour well.” Because of the geography of the area, sour wells release a high level of hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas. Short-term exposure can lead to eye irritation and headaches, like the one I felt. Exposure to high concentrations can lead to death. Hydrogen sulfide was in the smoke we were seeing in the camera and was the reason for the rotten egg smell—and taste.
We learned hydrogen sulfide was just one of the potentially unsafe pollutants leaking from this well. What’s not coming from this well anymore is gas. Marginal wells are at the end of their lifespans and barely produce any energy. Still, the wells are leaking climate-heating methane and toxic pollution near a nature trail folks are using to get outdoors and get exercise. Many seem to have gotten used to the odor.
A community at risk
Of the 10 wells Earthworks is monitoring in and around the park, three are leaking harmful pollution, three are not, and four have yet to be surveyed; some are difficult to access from public land. The leaky wells are not in desolate areas; they’re right next to homes. There are houses and cottages within 1,000 feet.
My friend moved with her family to Bay City five years ago. Three years later, her son developed asthma. She and her family have all been experiencing respiratory issues. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. She lives a 13-minute drive from the first well we saw in the park. In fact, I told her where it was when I stopped at her house after visiting it. I felt sick and needed to rest and recover a bit until I could drive. She said, “Yeah, my family and I fish over there. I’ve had headaches and felt sick to my stomach there before. And I never knew why.”
My friend is now checking her weather app all the time to see what the air quality is in their area. The American Lung Association gives Bay County a D grade for soot pollution. Our Earthworks guide was saying he’s heard from locals not only about the odors, but also about headaches, respiratory issues, and anxiety about their breathing.
Oil and gas in Bay City
Shipping is the major industry in Bay City; they have all sorts of commodities moving through. It’s a very poor area with many students on free and reduced-price lunch at school, and the families nearby are predominantly low-income, working-class folks. We learned on the tour that oil and gas companies would offer local homeowners $250 a month to host a well—steady income for folks who may not have enough to make ends meet.
On the tour, we were working off a state map that was two years old. The oil and gas company listed on that map was not the same one that we were reading on all the plaques at the well sites. It seems like these wells have been there for quite some time, and there has been turnover in ownership, so much so that the state is not keeping its map updated.
Next steps
Many of the leaks appear to be related to maintenance issues, meaning they could have been prevented with proper upkeep. Now that our Michigan methane coalition has data from the OGI camera, we’re hoping to use it to force companies into compliance with air pollution and methane rules and potentially close some of these polluting facilities. Earthworks has sent the data they’ve collected so far to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).
Visting leaking wells hiding in plain sight in Bay City really shook me. I couldn’t believe I felt so sick after only a few hours breathing in this pollution. I’m now planning a follow-up tour to bring local elected officials to see these wells—to highlight what’s going on and make sure that residents have the protections they need. I will definitely be bringing N95 masks along to protect us from the pollution. We also need to make sure EGLE has the funding to do proper inspections and hold these smaller companies accountable. And most importantly for the neighborhoods burdened with marginal wells across the country, we need to make sure we keep strong federal methane rules in place.
Tell Congress: Hold Zeldin Accountable for Corrupting EPA’s Mission