Residents in East Vandergrift are protesting the reopening of a gas production operation next to their houses that was shut down in late May due to methane gas leaking from what is believed to be an abandoned well.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced June 25 that it was giving the Apollo-based Gas and Oil Co. the go-ahead to reopen the well.

Mayor Dion Urban, who lives next to the drilling site at Foundry Street and McKinley Avenue, said he is afraid of another leak in spite of assurances from the DEP that opening the well is safe.

"We live in constant fear now," he said.

The leak was caused May 21 by drilling for natural gas near an abandoned well at a depth of around 3,600 feet, according to a Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Helen Humphreys.

The company was using a high-pressure water stream to extract the gas from rock formations when methane seeped through a porous rock formation and into the abandoned well, eventually making its way to the surface.

High concentrations of stray methane gas were found at the intersection of Foundry Street and McKinley Avenue, but none was found in the houses.

The DEP is requiring the company to "kill the well," a process in which the well is filled with a saltwater solution to prevent gas from migrating.

It's also requiring the company to install a ventilation system to trap gas if any more leaks to the surface, and methane gas detectors have been installed in seven houses, including Mr. Urban's.

The company also will be required to monitor methane gas levels on the surface and report to the DEP on a daily basis for a period of time. Since the initial incident, no gas has been detected.

Mr. Urban said the company should have done more to figure out where the abandoned gas wells were. The drilling site is located under 80 feet of foundry sand.

The company had a permit to drill and was not doing anything improper when it drilled near the abandoned well, said Ms. Humphreys.

She said that abandoned wells are difficult to detect because many are not marked on maps.

"There are abandoned wells that nobody even knows [are there] throughout various parts of Western Pennsylvania," she said, adding that it's uncommon for drillers to hit abandoned gas wells.

Edward Bilik, an attorney for the company, said they examined all available maps before drilling and none indicated there were abandoned wells.

He added that the company is complying diligently with all of the DEP requirements.

Still, Laura Poskus, who lives across the street from Mr. Urban, said she has trouble sleeping at night because she fears there will be another methane gas leak.

But she said she can't move because no one will buy her house.

"Who's going to buy this place? Would you buy it next to the methane gas problems we've been having?" she said.

Mr. Urban said he wants the well to be permanently sealed because that's the only way to prevent another methane leak.