WASHINGTON - The Department of the Interior today announced $76.4 million from President Biden's Investing in America agenda for Pennsylvania to clean up orphaned oil and gas wells. The Commonwealth expects to be able to plug approximately 550 orphaned oil and gas wells over the next five years thanks to this historic funding. These investments to address hazardous sites will help create good-paying union jobs, catalyze economic growth and revitalization, and reduce environmental and public health impacts from harmful methane leaks.
Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Department is delivering the largest investment in tackling legacy pollution in American history, including $4.7 billion to plug orphaned wells. This includes grants to states in three categories: initial grants, formula grants, and performance grants. Since August 2022, the Department has awarded $565 million in initial grant funding to 25 states, including $25 million to Pennsylvania, to begin work plugging and cleaning up orphaned wells nationwide.
Today's announcement is part of an overall $660 million in Phase 1 formula grant funding being released on a rolling basis. As part of the award, Pennsylvania will detect and measure methane emissions from orphaned oil and gas wells, screen for groundwater and surface water impacts, and prioritize cleaning up wells near overburdened and disadvantaged communities.
"President Biden's Investing in America agenda is empowering communities across the country to confront long-standing environmental injustices by making a historic investment to plug orphaned oil and gas wells," said Secretary Deb Haaland. "These investments are good for our climate, for the health of our communities, and for American workers. With this additional funding, Pennsylvania will put more people to work to clean up these toxic sites, reduce methane emissions and safeguard our environment."
Plugging is underway across the country. In fact, since the enactment of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law -- states have already plugged more than 8,200 orphaned wells, including over 200 in Pennsylvania. Nationwide, investments through the Department's Orphaned Wells Program Office are estimated to have supported over 7,200 jobs and contributed more than $900 million to the economy over the last two fiscal years.
Orphaned oil and gas wells are polluting backyards, recreation areas, and community spaces across the country. Many of these wells pose serious health and safety threats to air and water quality by contaminating surface and groundwater, releasing toxic air pollutants, polluting drinking water sources, and leaking methane - a "super pollutant" that is a significant cause of climate change and many times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Plugging orphaned wells supports broader Biden-Harris administration efforts under the U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan.
The Department's orphaned well program advances the Biden-Harris administration's ambitious environmental justice goals through the Justice40 Initiative, which sets a goal to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that have been marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
In addition to the $775 million available through initial grants and $1.5 billion in performance grants, states are eligible for $2 billion through multiple phases of formula grants. In August, the Department announced the availability of $775 million in Phase 2 formula grants, including $114.6 million for Pennsylvania. States have until December 13, 2024, to apply for Phase 2 formula grants.
In addition to providing historic funding to states, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated $250 million to clean up well sites in national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges, and other public lands, nearly $150 million of which has been disbursed over the past three years. This funding for states and federal land managers is in addition to over $52 million that has been awarded to Tribal communities.
