An initial $560 million in grants were announced Aug. 25 as the Interior Department began channeling funds to states to aid in plugging orphaned oil and gas wells and remediating sites.
States have indicated more than 10,000 high-priority sites ready for immediate work. These legacy sites are environmental hazards, many of them contaminating groundwater and emitting noxious gases, according to Interior.
The grants are part of $4.7 billion devoted to orphaned wells by the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act passed in Congress in 2021. Of the total, $1.15 billion is to be granted in federal fiscal year 2022, ending Sept. 30.
The initial round of grants is $25 million each for 22 states and $5 million each for two other states. Many initial state plans involve setting up methane measuring capacity. Full remediation can involve cutting off a well below ground, plugging it with cement, covering the site, smoothing the surface, and revegetating the location.
As of 2021, states have identified more than 129,000 abandoned wells on state and private land, Interior said, adding that the number is expected to grow.
The money is coming from general Treasury funds. Oil and gas companies are not directly involved, but oil and gas service companies can get contracts to do the work.
Some states have their own programs for remediating orphaned wells and are welcoming the federal funds as supplements to ongoing work.
State officials in the past have said they do not know the full number of orphaned wells because recordkeeping on drilling and production several decades ago often was inadequate, and the remnant wells may not be visible from the surface.
Among the states with the most extensive plans, the initial grant money will help start or supplement work on more than 2,000 wells in Kansas, more than 1,000 in Oklahoma, more than 1,000 in Kentucky, about 800 wells in Texas, 250-900 in Louisiana, 600-800 in Illinois, over 700 in Colorado, more than 400 in Michigan, and about 400 in Indiana.
The number of sites to be remediated by each grant to a state varies based on remoteness, well depth, site conditions, and previous work, Interior said.
