Democracy Rules

Orphaned oil wells are oil and gas wells that have been abandoned by defunct companies that cannot pay to plug them and restore drilling sites. The EPA estimates that there are more than 2 million unplugged abandoned wells in the United States, many of which leak methane into the air and groundwater and pose serious public health risks – especially to rural, Tribal and communities of color. By law, when oil and gas operators cease production, an inactive well must be cleaned up (reclaimed) by the operator. The Bureau of Land Management requires operators to post bonds to cover the costs of any reclamation work before they can start drilling on federal lands. However, the amount of these bonds is often insufficient, forcing taxpayers to cover the costs of reclaiming abandoned wells. According to a 2019 GAO report, 84% of bonds, covering 99.5% of wells, are insufficient to cover reclamation costs which are estimated to be at least $46.2 million. It warned that many more wells are at risk of becoming orphaned in coming years due to bankruptcies, as oil prices struggle to recover from historic lows after the pandemic crushed global fuel demand.

The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act budgeted $21 billion in environmental remediation that includes cleaning up Superfund and brownfield sites, reclaiming abandoned mine land, and capping orphaned oil and gas wells. However, this amount is insufficient to remediate all our orphaned oil wells.

Proposed Legislation: Reintroduction of H.R.2415 - Orphaned Well Cleanup and Jobs Act of 2021
Prospective Sponsor: Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM)

I oppose reforming current orphaned oil wells policy and wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (CA).
I support authorizing $7.25 billion in grant funding for orphaned oil well cleanup on state and private lands, $400 million for cleanup on public lands, and $300 million for cleanup on Tribal lands by: 1.) Strengthening regulatory safeguards on public lands to prevent future orphaned wells. 2.) Increasing minimum public land oil and gas bonding amounts to $150,0000 and $500,000 for all of an operator’s wells on an individual lease or in an entire state, respectively. 3.) Requiring operators pay an annual fee for idled wells on public lands. 4.) Allocating $50 million for related research and development to identify, characterize and mitigate undocumented orphaned wells. 5.) Requiring the steel, iron and other materials used in the plugging and reclamation of oil and gas wells to be made in the United States. And wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM) and/or to an advocate group currently working with this issue.

Winning Option »» I support authorizing $7.25 billion in grant funding for orphaned oil well cleanup on state and private lands, $400 million for cleanup on public lands, and $300 million for cleanup on Tribal lands by: 1.) Strengthening regulatory safeguards on public lands to prevent future orphaned wells. 2.) Increasing minimum public land oil and gas bonding amounts to $150,0000 and $500,000 for all of an operator’s wells on an individual lease or in an entire state, respectively. 3.) Requiring operators pay an annual fee for idled wells on public lands. 4.) Allocating $50 million for related research and development to identify, characterize and mitigate undocumented orphaned wells. 5.) Requiring the steel, iron and other materials used in the plugging and reclamation of oil and gas wells to be made in the United States. And wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM) and/or to an advocate group currently working with this issue.