As the human race takes a beat to consider its relationship with Mother Earth, the next great environmental cleanup in Pennsylvania may be at hand.
Bills percolating in the U.S. House and Senate would, if passed, direct billions of dollars to capping abandoned oil and gas wells around the country. Some of these “orphan” wells, abandoned when drilling companies stop operating, are leaking methane. They are a top environmental concern.
In addition to the House and Senate bills, President Joe Biden has included $16 billion in funding in his $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan for reclaiming orphan wells around the country and cementing them shut.
Capping these wells is a win-win proposition, a rare point of agreement between the oil and gas industry and environmental activists and between Democrats and Republicans. Legislators should move swiftly to infuse efforts to close them with the necessary capital to push the process forward.
Estimates vary on how many uncapped wells exist in the state. Some place the number at about 200,000. To cap them all could cost in excess of $6 billion. Efforts to cap these wells have been woefully underfunded, which has led to a system of prioritization: The worst wells are capped first while many are left open. Indefinitely.
The appeal to oil and gas companies is apparent. As drilling declines, these companies have been vocal about their willingness to contribute the manpower and know-how to capping abandoned wells. Providing them the funding to do so could preserve their jobs as the nation continues its move away from fossil fuels toward other sources of energy. Legislators should move swiftly to disburse funding that will allow this industry to begin bidding projects and putting Pennsylvanians to work cleaning up their state. This is a green initiative that delivers on promises to preserve jobs.
Environmental activists are in favor obvious reasons, too. Many of these orphan wells leak the greenhouse gas methane.
A group of University of Pittsburgh researchers has a paper currently moving through the peer review process that shows an impact of orphan wells on the broader economy of an area. The paper points out that failing to close open wells could be contributing to reduced real estate investment and depressed property values in the vicinity of the open wells. Capping them could kick-start land development.
The abandoned wells represent an opportunity for lawmakers, activists and businesses to come together to fix a problem that needs fixing and has needed it for years.
— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/TNS
