Article Summary –
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Abandoned Wells Remediation, Research and Development Act, intended to mitigate the health and environmental risks of abandoned oil and gas wells. The bill, sponsored by Democratic U.S. Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, mandates the U.S. Energy Department to develop a program improving data on well locations and strategies to lessen their environmental impact. The legislation, which received bipartisan support, will now be considered by the Senate.
US House Passes Abandoned Wells Remediation Act
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed legislation addressing public health risks and environmental issues from potentially millions of abandoned oil and gas wells nationwide, including thousands in Pennsylvania.
The Abandoned Wells Remediation, Research and Development Act, led by Democratic Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, compels the U.S. Energy Department to create a system for updating data on the location of these abandoned wells, procedures for plugging and repurposing them, and strategies to reduce their environmental impact, including chemical leakage and air, soil, and groundwater contamination.
The bill was passed 333-75, receiving bipartisan support with both Democrats and Republicans voting in favor. The bill now moves to the Senate.
Rep. Lee emphasized the danger of these abandoned wells, stating, “They contribute to the climate crisis through methane leakage, expose our families to carcinogens like benzene, lower property values, and create risks of gas explosions.”
Methane, a greenhouse gas significantly more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat, is a common byproduct of these wells.
Pennsylvania’s history of oil and gas drilling dates back to 1859, resulting in a trail of abandoned wells that pose a threat to public health and the environment, and disproportionately affect communities of color, low-income regions, and tribal and Indigenous communities.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection reports around 27,000 documented abandoned wells, but the actual number could exceed 350,000. Lack of solid data on these wells is a key issue addressed by the bill, and federal estimates suggest millions more such wells across the nation.
The U.S. Department of the Interior reports that at least 4.6 million Americans live within half a mile of an abandoned oil or gas well, and up to 14 million people are within a mile of one.
The current administration has secured substantial funding to remediate these wells through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provided $4.7 billion to plug wells on federal, tribal, state, and private land. Last year, federal funds helped Pennsylvania seal 139 abandoned wells.
The cost of plugging a well can reach $100,000, an amount beyond the reach of many homeowners.
Part of the infrastructure law’s funds are ear-marked for homeowners like Pamela and Ivan Schrank of western Pennsylvania, who discovered an abandoned well on their property.
“I found the abandoned well when I almost fainted from dizziness one day,” Pamela Schrank said.
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