Homeowner distraught after enduring alarming effects of neighbor's excessive construction: 'Machinery and generators going 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 their wits' end with a neighboring property. 

"I live in what used to be a sleepy farm town," the Redditor wrote. "Over the past 10 years, it's become a playground for the rich and famous. That in itself is not the problem. … 4 years ago rich oil people bought the property next door. They immediately started excavating. Machinery and generators going 24/7 for the first year … Their excavation contaminated our water supply with sewage from a pipe broken by their crappy excavator."

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The Redditor has been living next to an active oil site for years and isn't sure what else to do besides move. They explained in the comments that they feel defeated: "This guy is very familiar with environmental impact and nothing sticks. The oil industry are the most powerful polluters in the world."

It's not just this farmer — nearly 18 million people in the United States live within one mile of an oil or gas well, according to a 2022 study. Living next to an oil well poses serious health concerns, like higher risk of asthma and cancer. Air pollution from excavating can cause or exacerbate respiratory issues, and water contamination exposes residents to dangerous levels of chemicals like arsenic, chloride, and barium. 

Their impact doesn't end there. Even after they're plugged up, oil wells can continue to release large amounts of gases like methane. Methane is "more than 28 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere," according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Commenters urged the Redditor to take action.

"Go around this guy and bring in the EPA because of pollution of groundwater and hazardous waste being in the water supply," one user recommended. "You want to hit this bunch 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 they are disturbing some sort of eco system," another user suggested.

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