Resident questions methane test wells near Indiana line; board checks and reports landowner says wells legal

A resident raised concerns at the Edgar County Board meeting about drilling activity near New Providence Church, reporting temporary roads and stakes for four wells and saying the landowner had told him the work is intended to release gas from an old pipeline rupture.

"Dave Anderson lives out by New Providence Church, and he called me Bridal evening and concerned about the, wells that they were drilling up by his area. Right. There was 4 total wells," a board member reported to the meeting. The board member said he had visited the site and that the landowner told residents the wells were legal and intended to release trapped gas from a pipeline rupture in the 1970s or 1980s.

The board discussed the possibility that the wells are related to methane extraction or monitoring and noted the sites are near the Indiana state line. One board member said, "If those are CO2 pipeline monitoring wells, they better be on the Indiana side, because there's no legal jurisdiction on the concern." The county member said county staff had contacted local departments and planned to follow up; one well had been drilled, and three other stake locations marked where temporary roads lead.

Board members and staff raised questions about carbon‑credit incentives for burning methane, and one member said he had done some research on methane and old gas wells. Members noted some Illinois counties have recently adopted temporary prohibitions on CO2 projects to allow time for study. The board did not take formal action on the wells; members said they would continue to seek information from the landowner and relevant regulatory agencies.

No county enforcement action was reported at the meeting; the board noted that if wells lie across the state line in Indiana, Edgar County would not have jurisdiction.