The Department of the Interior today announced a $15.89 million investment through President Biden's Investing in America agenda to assist three Tribal Nations and the State of Alabama clean up orphaned oil and gas wells. The investment will support economic opportunities to address legacy pollution, reduce harmful methane leaks, and tackle environmental hazards that threaten communities. This announcement builds on $69 million in previously announced Tribal grants and $565 million in previously announced state initial grants.
"Toxic orphaned oil and gas wells have plagued American communities for generations. President Biden's Investing in America agenda is empowering Tribes and states across the country to address this long-standing environmental injustice by making a historic investment to plug these wells, which will create jobs and revitalize local economies," said Secretary Deb Haaland. "Millions of Americans live within a mile of an orphaned oil and gas well. With this historic funding, we are empowering Tribal Nations and states to begin to turn the tide on these environmental hazards that are harming our communities, lands, waters and air."
Funding announced today may be utilized to plug, remediate or reclaim orphaned wells on Tribal, state and private lands, restore soil and habitat in areas degraded due to orphaned wells, decommission or remove associated infrastructure, identify and characterize additional undocumented wells on Tribal, state and private land, and set up well-plugging capacity where not already established.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides a total of $4.7 billion to address orphaned wells across the country, including $4.275 billion for states and $150 million specifically for Tribal communities. Today's announcement brings the total nationwide investment in cleaning up orphaned wells on Tribal lands to approximately $81 million and in cleaning up orphaned wells on state and private lands to nearly $1.1 billion. Today's initial grant announced for Alabama is the 26th awarded to states by the Department.
The three Tribes and one state are receiving the following amounts:
| Tribe or State | Award |
| Comanche Nation | $5.94 million |
| Fort Belknap Indian Community | $2.33 million |
| Muscogee (Creek) Nation | $2.62 million |
| State of Alabama | $5 million |
In addition to providing historic funding to Tribes and 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, all of which has been disbursed over the past four years.
