CLEVELAND, Ohio – Ohio is expected to get a large chunk of the billions of dollars the Biden Administration will be doling out to clean up “orphaned” oil and gas wells around the country.
The first phase will total $1.15 billion, with Ohio eligible to receive nearly $85 million, according to the U.S. Department of Interior. The total for the well-capping program over five years is $4.7 billion, with Ohio to receive about $256 million.
The wells have been abandoned by industry and left to states and the federal government to clean up, Winnie Stachelberg, senior advisor and infrastructure coordinator at the U.S. Department of Interior, said Tuesday during a press conference.
A report issued by the Environmental Defense Fund states that there are more than 81,000 “documented orphan wells” in the country with 891 of them in Ohio.
Cuyahoga County has 69 of the wells, second most in the state to the 70 in Wood County. Lorain has 61 and Ashtabula has 33.
“So, these wells have been in communities’ backyards for decades,” she said, “They leak methane and pollute local neighborhoods, recreation areas and public spaces across the country.”
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland stated in a press release that her department “is taking a thoughtful and methodical approach to implementing the orphaned oil and gas well program that aims to get money to states as quickly as possible while being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars. We are committed to ensuring states receive investments equitably and based on data-driven needs.”
The Hill recently reported that the Interior Department issued a memo pegging the number of documented abandoned wells at more than 130,000 across the United States, substantially more than the estimate in 2019.
Texas is eligible for more than $107 million of the first-phase funds and Pennsylvania is in line for more than $104 million. Over five years, Texas is eligible to recieve almost $344 million and Pennsylvania almost $331 million .
The wells present a problem when they are not properly capped because they can seep into groundwater or release methane into the air.
“For too long, abandoned oil and gas wells have posed serious threats to the health and well-being of Ohioans, particularly those in our most underserved communities,” U.S. Rep Tim Ryan, a Niles-area Democrat, said in a prepared statement.
“These urgently needed funds from the bipartisan infrastructure law will help get rid of dangerous pollution, ensure our kids have clean air and drinking water, and simultaneously create good-paying jobs.”
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, also a Democrat, issued similar praise for the program.
“Cleaning up these abandoned wells will create good-paying jobs across Ohio making our communities safer and healthier,” Brown stated in a news release.
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Originally Appeared Here