Deb Haaland Secretary at U.S. Department of Interior | Official website
The Department of the Interior has awarded $126.7 million through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to address legacy pollution in Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, New York, and Ohio. Orphaned oil and gas wells are contaminating various areas across the country, posing significant health and safety threats by polluting surface and groundwater, releasing toxic air pollutants, and leaking methane—a potent greenhouse gas.
With this funding, the five states will collectively plug nearly 600 wells and inventory additional undocumented orphaned wells for future plugging activities. These investments aim to create union jobs, stimulate economic growth, protect public health and the environment from methane leaks, and advance environmental justice.
“Toxic orphaned oil and gas wells have plagued American communities for generations. President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is empowering states and Tribes 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 the states of Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, New York and Ohio to begin to turn the tide on these environmental hazards that are harming our communities, lands, waters and air.”
Today’s awards are part of $660 million in formula grant funding from President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law being released on a rolling basis. As part of these awards, states will detect and measure methane emissions from orphaned oil and gas wells while prioritizing cleanup efforts near overburdened and disadvantaged communities. These initiatives support the President’s Justice40 Initiative aimed at delivering 40 percent of certain federal investment benefits to historically marginalized communities.
The awarded amounts for each state are as follows:
- Ohio: $57.75 million
- Alaska: $25 million
- New York: $25 million
- Indiana: $14.08 million
- Arizona: $4.87 million
Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Department is making its largest investment in tackling legacy pollution in American history with $4.7 billion allocated for plugging orphaned wells. This includes grants 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 these five states with each receiving $25 million for initial work on inventorying and cleaning up orphaned wells.
As of March 31 with initial grant funding, these five states have plugged over 340 wells while conducting community outreach and well characterization. The newly announced $127 million in formula grant funding aims to continue this momentum.
According to a recently released StoryMap by the Department, since the enactment of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law more than 7,700 orphaned wells have been plugged nationwide reducing approximately 11,530 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. Investments through this program are estimated to have supported over 7,200 jobs contributing more than $900 million over the last two fiscal years.
In addition to initial grants totaling $775 million available through multiple phases of formula grants worth $2 billion states can also apply for an additional $1.5 billion in performance grants under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law following recent release of final state matching grant guidance.
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