An abandoned gas well in Pennsylvania. (File photo)

WASHINGTON, D. C. - The U.S. Department of Interior has awarded $25 million in bipartisan infrastructure bill funding to Ohio that the state will use to plug between 170 and 320 abandoned oil and gas wells. The money is coming from $4.7 billion that the legislation set aside to remedy environmental problems caused by orphaned wells.

The Interior Department indicated many of the Ohio wells slated for capping are in the state’s Appalachian region, which has experienced a disproportionate burden of legacy pollution. It said Ohio plans to sample private and public water supplies that are within 500 feet of orphaned wells before and after they’re plugged.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources says it has not yet identified the specific wells that will be plugged with the latest round of funding. Most of Ohio’s 88 counties contain orphaned oil and gas wells.

Interior Department infrastructure coordinator Winnie Stachelberg told reporters cleanup priority will go to wells that “pose the greatest threat to health and human safety, the environment and personal property.”

“These orphaned oil and gas wells aren’t alone in a field,” she said. “They’re in rivers where recreational boaters want to take their boats. They are in national parks. They are in wildlife refuges. They are down the street from people’s schools. These are environmental hazards that contaminate groundwater, litter the landscape with rusted and dangerous equipment, harm wildlife and leak methane, a serious safety hazard and significant cause of climate change.”

A statement from U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican who helped draft the infrastructure law, said the money “is yet another example” of how the law is making a difference in Ohio.

“Our Ohio Department of Natural Resources has worked hard for the past two years to expand their orphan well program and steadily increase the number of wells plugged each year,” added a statement from Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.” We look forward to the opportunity to make even more progress in plugging Ohio’s orphaned oil and gas wells.”

An Interior Department statement said millions of Americans across the country live within a mile of an orphaned oil and gas well, which pollute backyards, recreation areas and community spaces. It said cleaning up the hazards will reduce methane leaks, create good-paying, union jobs, and catalyze economic growth and revitalization.

White House infrastructure coordinator Mitch Landrieu said money granted to 24 states this week will be used to plug, cap and reclaim over 10,000 orphaned oil and gas wells nationwide. He said many are on private property, and predicted landowners will be eager to have the government clean them up. He said a 2021 analysis identified more than 129,000 orphan wells throughout the country, and predicted the number “is sure to grow” as more are located.

“Remember, this is the government coming in and cleaning up what oil and gas companies have left behind and basically walked away from,” Landrieu said. “It’s been really damaging people’s environment, their livelihoods and their lives, to be honest with you.”

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