Only 160 Orphan Oil & Gas Wells in West Virginia to be Plugged for $25 Million

Thousands of wells where leaks & vents send methane into the air

From an Article by Charles Boothe, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, August 27, 2022

West Virginia will receive $25 million to plug, remediate and reclaim 160 orphaned wells throughout the state. The funding was made possible by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act through the Department of the Interior.

These are orphan oil and gas wells that have been abandoned by companies over the years.

The Department of the Interior is continuing to implement the bipartisan infrastructure law with additional funding for orphaned well clean-up projects, including 160 wells across West Virginia. These projects are intended to help West Virginia’s communities remain safe and healthy, while also bringing economic benefits and good-paying jobs for our communities.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided $4.7 billion to plug, remediate and reclaim orphaned wells via grants to the states and new federal programs. This is the first round of funding.

According to the announcement, in West Virginia, these grants will help the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to ensure that state and local priorities are addressed, while employing local oil and gas workers.

“Millions of Americans live within a mile of hundreds of thousands of orphaned oil and gas wells and there are at least 4,646 documented orphan wells in West Virginia alone that will be eligible for funding under this initiative,” the announcement said. “These wells jeopardize public health and safety by contaminating groundwater, seeping toxic chemicals, emitting harmful pollutants including methane, and harming wildlife. In addition to creating good-paying jobs addressing this pollution, these investments create safer and more inhabitable communities and drive new economic opportunities.”

According to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), most of the wells are located in the northwestern and western part of the state, with several in the Mingo, Wyoming and McDowell counties area.

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SEE ALSO ~ Orphan Wells Are Threatening West Virginia Communities

New map shows the location of all 4,594 documented orphan wells in the state. Federal legislation known as the REGROW Act will invest nearly $5 billion to plug and clean up these and the more than 81,000 other orphan wells across the country.