The Headley family built their house a few years ago, just before the gas-drilling boom hit. They had a chance to buy the gas rights but chose not to. Now, they wish they had, because they're sharing their 115-acre farm with the Marcellus Shale industry.
A puddle along a country road in southern Fayette County is a natural spring, an artesian well, but it's not the spring that's making it bubble.
David Headley told Action News investigator Jim Parsons that he wasn't really sure when he first noticed it, but he said, "We've seen it bubbling now for the last couple of years."
About the same time, nearby gas wells were drilled on Headley's property. He invited Parsons to do what he did when he first saw the bubbles: flick a lighter.
"Is that really water burning?" Parsons asked Headley.
When Headley placed a funnel over the bubbles, the flame stayed lit.
"The horses used to drink out of this spring, and the deer and the coon. All those animals have since left. Nothing will drink out of it. There's not a footprint around this well at all," said Headley.
But that's not what angers Headley the most.
More + A puddle along a country road in southern Fayette County is a natural spring, an artesian well, but it's not the spring that's making it bubble.
David Headley told Action News investigator Jim Parsons that he wasn't really sure when he first noticed it, but he said, "We've seen it bubbling now for the last couple of years."
About the same time, nearby gas wells were drilled on Headley's property. He invited Parsons to do what he did when he first saw the bubbles: flick a lighter.
"Is that really water burning?" Parsons asked Headley.
When Headley placed a funnel over the bubbles, the flame stayed lit.
"The horses used to drink out of this spring, and the deer and the coon. All those animals have since left. Nothing will drink out of it. There's not a footprint around this well at all," said Headley.
But that's not what angers Headley the most.
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