{"id":15397,"date":"2025-12-03T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/hissing-gas-well-near-hesperus-finally-gets-colorados-attention\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:47:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:47:49","slug":"hissing-gas-well-near-hesperus-finally-gets-colorados-attention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/hissing-gas-well-near-hesperus-finally-gets-colorados-attention\/","title":{"rendered":"Hissing gas well near Hesperus finally gets Colorado\u2019s attention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Randy
Randy Kennedy looks over the leaking gas well on his property near Breen on Nov. 5. After months of trying to get the state of Colorado\u2019s attention, a tentative plugging date has been set for early this month. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

BREEN \u2013 After several months of trying to get the state of Colorado\u2019s attention about a leaking natural gas well on his property near Hesperus, landowner Randy Kennedy has finally succeeded.<\/p>\n

The well \u2013 an old, plugged gas well that has been venting methane into the air and soil \u2013 is scheduled to be re-plugged early this month.<\/p>\n

Getting to this point was anything but easy, Kennedy said.<\/p>\n

When he purchased the 80-acre parcel that had been in his family for generations, he planned to revive the farm his father and grandfather once worked. But he noticed a patch of ground where nothing would grow. Aerial imagery from Google Maps and the La Plata County GIS system shows a circular barren spot on the property.<\/p>\n

At the center of that circle sits a gas well originally plugged in 1969. The well\u2019s last state inspection was in the 1980s, according to state records. Earlier this year, Kennedy visited the site and noticed something was off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went down there one day and I noticed that I could hear something,\u201d he said. \u201cIt had just had some moisture, and I thought I could see something bubbling. I thought, \u2018That doesn\u2019t look right.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Kennedy first contacted the state in February 2025, without success. Months passed before anyone acknowledged his messages, he said.<\/p>\n

\"Records
Records show the historic gas well on Randy Kennedy\u2019s property was originally plugged in 1969 and passed a state inspection in the 1980s. Kennedy believes the circle of dirt where vegetation no longer grows indicates the plug stopped working several years ago. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cWhen I first called, they told me the records showed it had been plugged, so their hands were tied,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cI\u2019ve called the state starting in February probably over half a dozen times. They never pick up. So I\u2019ve left messages. They will not call me back. I don\u2019t know what the deal is. I even called the federal site that has to do with hazards and hazardous material and pipelines.\u201d<\/p>\n

He eventually took matters into his own hands and dug into the well, which had been covered by dirt. Kennedy found a large leak, as the well made an obvious hissing sound indicating gas exiting into the atmosphere. The soil surrounding the well was black.<\/p>\n

The Durango Herald<\/em> reached out to the state with questions on Oct. 21, a day before La Plata County Commissioner Elizabeth Philbrick also contacted state officials. On Oct. 22, someone from the state finally called Kennedy back. Since then, he said, progress has moved quickly.<\/p>\n

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