“Machines and generators operating 24/7”

We’ve seen our share of nightmare neighbors, but this Redditor’s experience takes the cake for bad neighbor behavior.

A farmer asked a popular subreddit for advice after reaching his limits with a neighboring property.

“I live in what was once a sleepy farming town,” the Redditor wrote. “Over the last 10 years, it has become a playground for the rich and famous. That in itself is not the problem. … 4 years ago, wealthy oilmen bought the neighboring property. They immediately started digging. The machines and generators are running 24/7 for the first year… Their digging has contaminated our water supply with sewage from a broken pipe by their crappy excavator.

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The Redditor has lived next to an active oil site for years and doesn’t know what to do other than move. They explained in the comments, they feel defeated: “This guy knows the environmental impact very well and nothing sticks. The oil industry is the most powerful polluter in the world.”

It’s not just this farmer: Nearly 18 million people in the United States live within a mile of an oil or gas well, according to a 2022 study. Living Next to a Well of oil poses serious health problems, such as a higher risk of asthma and cancer. Air pollution from excavations can cause or worsen respiratory problems, and water contamination exposes residents to dangerous levels of chemicals like arsenic, chloride and barium.

Their impact does not stop there. Even once plugged, oil wells can continue to release large quantities of gases like methane. Methane is “more than 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere,” according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Commenters urged the Redditor to take action.

“Bypass this guy and call the EPA due to groundwater pollution and hazardous waste in the water supply,” one user recommended. “You want to hit this group where it really hurts. The wallet. Groundwater pollution IS a serious problem and raw sewage in the water supply is a huge concern.”

“Environmentalists! Find them. Find ways to prove that they are disrupting some sort of ecosystem,” another user suggested.

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