In a speech unveiling his first budget proposal as governor, Shapiro said his administration would apply for the maximum amount of money the state is eligible to receive. DEP also plugs wells when an owner cannot be identified.Īs part of the federal 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pennsylvania could receive as much as $400 million over the next decade to plug abandoned and orphaned wells. The 1984 law that regulates Pennsylvania drilling companies made DEP responsible for plugging unproductive wells that were dug before 1985, commonly called orphan wells. While abandoned wells pose a range of safety issues, including environmental contamination and sinkholes, their tendency to leak large amounts of methane is one of the state’s biggest concerns. Nate Smallwood / For Spotlight PA An abandoned well is seen on the property of Cheryl and Joe Thomas in Duke Center, Pa., on April 25, 2023. During her decades pushing DEP, well owners, and local politicians for a solution, Thomas said she more than once found herself getting frustrated and telling them, “Well, I guess you’re just waiting for us to die.” Stuck in the middle are people like Thomas. The latter has proved challenging for the department, which said in a recent report there is a “culture of non-compliance” among well operators. Otherwise, it seeks to compel the owner of the well to take care of the plugging. The agency also plugs wells, but only if it cannot identify who owns it, if it was drilled before 1984, or as a last resort. State officials estimate there are roughly 200,000 abandoned wells in Pennsylvania, though an analysis of methane emissions found the number could be as high as 750,000.Ī recent report from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection found well operators routinely fail to plug wells as required.

Doing so is key to preventing contamination of soil and water as well as the release of methane, a greenhouse gas that is more than 25 times more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. If a well has been inactive for at least a year, the state declares it abandoned and requires the operator or owner to plug it. Hundreds of thousands of oil and gas wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania since the oil rush began more than 100 years ago. Josh Shapiro to prioritize the issue, have given some lawmakers and environmental advocates hope that the state will be able to do more to plug thousands of abandoned gas and oil wells.īut some also acknowledge that the problem can’t be solved with money alone. An expected infusion of federal money, and a commitment from Democratic Gov.

Dangerous by amanda quick