U.S. Interior Department Announces Nearly $16 Million to Clean Up Orphaned Oil, Gas Wells

The U.S. Interior Department on Jan. 10 announced a $15.89 million investment to help three Tribal Nations and the State of Alabama clean up orphaned oil and gas wells. The funding is part of the Biden Administration’s Investing in America agenda and builds on previously announced funding of the $69 million in Tribal grants and $565 million in state initial grants. Funding issued so far has facilitated economic growth, helped address methane leaks, and reduced both public and environmental health risks to surface water and groundwater resources.

The announcement brings the total U.S. funding in cleaning up orphaned wells on Tribal lands to around $81 million and in cleaning up orphaned wells on state and private lands to around $1.1 billion. Moreover, the initial grant announced for the state of Alabama is the 26th awarded by the department. The department awarded $5.94 million to Comanche Nation, $2.33 million to Fort Belknap Indian Community and $2.62 million to the Muscogee Nation.

The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or IIJA, provides $11.3 billion to provide grants to states and tribes for abandoned coal mine land reclamation and $4.7 billion for orphaned well site plugging, remediation and restoration activities. Over $1 billion has already been circulated to clean up orphaned oil and gas well and well sites. Orphaned wells have the potential to negatively impact public health and safety by polluting groundwater and drinking water sources, leaking toxic chemicals, emitting dangerous pollutants, and damaging wildlife. Methane, a key driver of climate change, is more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.

Since the implementation of the IIJA, states have plugged over 8,200 orphaned wells. Moreover, funding via the Orphaned Well Program Office is projected to have supported more than 7,200 employment opportunities and contributed more than $900 million to the U.S. economy over the last two fiscal years. Furthermore, plugging orphaned wells supports broader efforts under the U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action plan and reinforces the administration’s commitment to the Justice40 initiative.