“We had no idea when we moved here,” said Krystal Solis, standing near a heavy black metal fence that encloses a silent, persistent danger in her southwest San Antonio neighborhood. “No one told us anything.”
At the Preserve at Medina, a quiet subdivision of brick-and-siding starter homes, daily life unfolds just feet from an abandoned legacy oil well that continues to vent toxic gases into the soil and air. Originally drilled as the Thompson Callaway Spears #1 well in 1955 by J.D. Collins, the site has transformed from the rural edge of the city into a residential community where children step off school buses mere yards from warning signs reading, “CAUTION flammable gas.”
The Texas Observer reported the details of the ongoing environmental hazard, noting that while oil has not flowed from the well since it was plugged in 2006, the infrastructure has repeatedly failed state containment efforts. The Railroad Commission of Texas, the state’s oil and gas industry overseer, has plugged the well five times, yet hydrogen sulfide and methane continue to migrate through the subsurface toward nearby residences.
A Neighborhood Built Over Unseen Liabilities
When the Toyota manufacturing plant opened on San Antonio’s South Side in 2006, development steadily crept along the Medina River. By 2019, construction on the Preserve at Medina was underway, and developers uncovered gas leaking directly from the forgotten well site. Inspectors confirmed the presence of hydrogen sulfide and methane that April, prompting the state to step in and assume plugging costs after the former operator, Black Jack Services, fell into delinquent status.
Despite being plugged multiple times, the well has repeatedly leaked gas. Contractors warned the Railroad Commission as recently as June that gas plumes were actively moving toward family homes, creating a genuine explosion risk. Homebuilders D.R. Horton and LGI Homes did not respond to requests for comment regarding the lack of disclosures to buyers.
Laura Lopez, a spokesperson for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, confirmed that the hydrogen sulfide levels detected near the surface are potent enough to produce noticeable odors and trigger adverse health effects, including headaches and nausea. For residents like Amanda Pacheco, who moved into the neighborhood in July 2021 with her family, the reality of the situation manifested in strange ways long before they understood the cause. Pacheco noted that drilling vibrations from repair crews cracked her home’s concrete foundation, while others report chemical odors growing overpowering after rainstorms.
Texas Law Fails to Require Disclosure of Legacy Wells
The regulatory framework governing legacy wells in Texas leaves prospective homeowners exposed to hidden hazards. The state features no statutory requirement for real estate developers or sellers to disclose the presence of plugged or abandoned oil and gas wells to buyers before purchase. Texas counties lack the legal authority to enforce strict building setbacks over old oilfield sites.
Blake Scott, who operates Waste Analytics, pointed out that neither the real estate nor the energy sector faces financial incentives to warn buyers.
The vulnerabilities exposed in San Antonio mirror a broader North American infrastructure challenge. In August 2021, a legacy gas well leaked hydrogen sulfide into a downtown basement in Wheatley, Ontario, triggering an explosion that injured 20 people. Similar failures have rattled communities from a church parking lot in Grandfalls, Texas, to residential neighborhoods in Trinidad, Colorado, and Newport Beach, California, where homes were evacuated following a methane leak from a 1920s-era well.
“If I had a message for homebuyers, it would be to do your own due diligence,” said Adam Peltz, senior director and lead counsel at the Environmental Defense Fund. “This is happening all over the country.”
The Search for a Permanent Resolution
State agencies remain locked in a cycle of monitoring and remediation. Bryce Dubee, a spokesman for the Railroad Commission, stated that the agency has spent more than $1 million on repeated interventions at the San Antonio property.
Krystal Solis recalled that during New Year’s celebrations, a neighborhood firework briefly ignited gas venting from the ground near her property line. While a heavy black metal fence and warning signage ring the plot, families downwind continue to press local and state authorities for answers regarding their long-term safety.
“I just want to know if it’s dangerous,” Solis said.
