Federal government seeks input on how to spend $250 million to clean up abandoned oil wells
Federal regulators are looking for ways to spend $250 million earmarked for cleaning up abandoned oil wells throughout the U.S. funded by the recent infrastructure bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden.
The program to distribute the federal dollars to states for cleaning up the wells was planned to be enacted by Jan. 14, 2022 and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management schedule an online webinar to present its proposal and receive public input for 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2022 via Zoom.
In its announcement of the program, the BLM argued plugging abandoned wells, also known as “orphaned” wells, must be prioritized to protect public health and the environment as the facilities when left unmonitored can leak air- and water-polluting chemicals.
By Adrian Hedden, Carlsbad Current Argus