News | December 16, 2024

Biden-Harris Administration Announces $109M From Investing In America Agenda To Clean Up Legacy Pollution On Federal Lands And Waters

Funding from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will create good-paying jobs, help clean up 484 orphaned oil and gas well sites nationwide

The Department of the Interior today announced a $109.6M investment through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to put people to work plugging, remediating and reclaiming orphaned oil and gas wells in national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges, and on other public lands and waters. Five federal agencies within the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture will address 484 high-priority, polluting wells that pose threats to human health and safety, the climate, and wildlife. Today’s announcement brings the total distributed to address orphaned wells on federal lands to $250M, the entirety of the funding made available in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for work on federal lands.

This year’s funding is part of an overall historic $4.7B investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address orphaned oil and gas wells across the nation that will create good-paying union jobs, catalyze economic growth and revitalization, improve public health and safety, and reduce harmful methane leaks. Methane pollution from many of these unplugged wells is a serious safety hazard and a significant driver of climate change, with methane being more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.

“Toxic orphaned wells pose a significant threat to American communities and our environment,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “I’ve seen firsthand how orphaned oil and gas wells left behind by extractive industries lead to hazardous pollution, water contamination, and safety hazards. This crucial funding reflects President Biden’s vision for a cleaner, safer and more equitable future. It’s a win-win-win – reducing harmful methane emissions, restoring our treasured landscapes, and creating good-paying jobs.” 

Today’s allocation is part of a total $250M provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to clean up orphaned well sites on federal public lands and is in addition to $4.3B to plug orphaned wells on state and private lands and $150M for clean-up on Tribal lands. It is estimated that the money distributed for public lands will plug over 1,000 orphaned wells. To date, 199 of these orphaned wells have been plugged.

Today’s $109.6M investment will fund cleanup efforts across 13 states and the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf, covering a diverse array of projects, including plugging, reclamation, methane measurement, and infrastructure removal at various national parks, wildlife refuges, national forests, and offshore oilfield locations.

See below for a list of funded projects slated for this fiscal year: 

FY25 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funded Federal Orphaned Well Projects by Agency and State:

Agency

State

Total Number of Wells

Total Project Funding Amount ($)

Bureau of Land Management

Ohio

39

11,775,000

Pennsylvania

West Virginia

Wyoming

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement

Gulf of Mexico Region – Grand Isle 22 Area

 

 

20

 

 

30,621,527

Gulf of Mexico Region – High Island Area

Gulf of Mexico Region – South Timbalier 54/67 Area

Gulf of Mexico Region – West Delta Area

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Louisiana

 

 

288

 

 

17,900,158

Michigan (MI) / Oregon

Montana

Oklahoma

Texas

National Park Service

Louisiana

 

 

24

 

 

13,280,000

Ohio

Tennessee

Texas

Multiple states

U.S. Forest Service

Kentucky

113

16,808,945

Pennsylvania

Grand Total (All Bureaus Combined Project Funding)

484 

* $90,385,630

*Does not include $19,186,348 in administrative and contingency funding

About The U.S. Department of the Interior
The Department of the Interior (DOI) conserves and manages the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage for the benefit and enjoyment of the American people, provides scientific and other information about natural resources and natural hazards to address societal challenges and create opportunities for the American people, and honors the Nation’s trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated island communities to help them prosper.

Source: The Department of the Interior (DOI)