Gov. Tom Wolf recently announced an award of $104 million from the infrastructure bill to be used towards addressing abandoned and orphaned mines. | governor.pa.gov/
Gov. Tom Wolf recently announced an award of $104 million from the infrastructure bill to be used towards addressing abandoned and orphaned mines. | governor.pa.gov/
Gov. Tom Wolf recently shared news of an initial award of $25 million, with a total award of $104 million, from President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to assist in addressing oil and gas wells throughout the state.
Gov. Wolf said in a press release the funding for efforts made in plugging the wells, which leak methane and contribute to climate change, will "support our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," provide the state with "a cleaner local ecosystem" and create jobs.
“This bipartisan investment will address the dangers of abandoned mines while simultaneously supporting new, good-paying jobs, economic recovery and community revitalization in Pennsylvania,” Gov. Tom Wolf said in a Twitter post.
Pennsylvania is the home of anywhere between 300,000 to 760,000 oil and gas wells, with another 100,000 to 560,000 remaining unaccounted for in state records, the Department of Environmental Protection stated in a fact sheet. To be classified as "abandoned," these wells cannot have been used in the last 12 months, all equipment required for operations has been removed or the well is considered dry and "not equipped for production within 60 days after drilling or deepening."
An orphaned well, according to the Oil and Gas Act, is a well abandoned prior to April 18, 1985, that has not been operational and the owner has not received economic benefit from except for royalty interest, the DEP fact sheet said.
Funding for Pennsylvania's award, and the 21 other states eligible, comes from the Department of the Interior's approximately $725 million available for FY 2022 for abandoned mine lands (AML) as part of the infrastructure law, according to a Department of the Interior press release. Over the next 15 years, $11.3 billion in funding will be provided for AML cleanup in the 22 states eligible and for the Navajo Nation.
Though Pennsylvania's total award funding is $104 million, the state was listed as eligible for up $244.9 million for FY 2022. States are guaranteed at least $20 million throughout the next 15 years if inventory of sites cost more and future distributions will change as inventory changes, the press release stated.
Pennsylvania's total award is the second-largest allocation, with Texas having the largest.
Alerts Sign-up