The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on Wednesday launched a new grant program aimed at plugging orphaned oil and gas wells throughout the state.
This initiative is expected to reduce methane emissions, protect public health, and create jobs across Pennsylvania.
The new program offers grants up to $40,000 for wells 3,000 feet deep or less, and up to $70,000 for wells deeper than 3,000 feet. T
he grants will be available to qualified well pluggers for orphan wells, which are wells that were abandoned before 1985. Applications will open on Oct. 9 through DEP’s website, and grants will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Recently, the United Mine Workers of America announced a new apprenticeship program to train workers to plug wells and restore well sites.
Here's more from the press release:
Pennsylvania is home to more than 350,000 orphaned and abandoned wells, contributing nearly 8 percent of the state's total methane emissions. Methane is especially hazardous, being up to 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide, which poses a potential risk to life and property, significantly warming the planet, and contributing to harmful air pollution.
DEP has identified over 27,000 orphaned and abandoned wells and is prioritizing those posing the highest risks. DEP will continue to focus new plugging contracts on these high-priority wells, along with nearby wells, to maximize efficiency and preempt environmental threats. Meanwhile, the grant program will fund wells lower on the current priority list so that they do not become environmental hazards in the future.
DEP is aggressively going after operators who are walking away from wells and stepping in with emergency plugging contracts where needed to protect public health. Through IIJA funding and existing state funding for DEP, the Commonwealth is moving aggressively to tackle this massive contributor of greenhouse gases.
More information on the grant program is available on the DEP website: Rewriting Pennsylvania’s Legacy Orphan Well Plugging Grant Program.