Ohio eligible for $256 million in federal help to clean abandoned oil and gas wells

Ohio eligible for $256 million in federal help to clean abandoned oil and gas wells

CLEVELAND, Ohio -Ohio is expected to get a large chunk of the billions of dollars the Biden Administration will be doling out to clean up “orphaned” oil and gas wells around the country.

The first phase will total $1.15 billion, with Ohio eligible to receive nearly $85 million, according to the U.S. Department of Interior. The total for the well-capping program over five years is $4.7 billion, with Ohio to receive about $256 million.

A report issued by the Environmental Defense Fund states that there are more than 81,000 “documented orphan wells” in the country with 891 of them in Ohio.

Cuyahoga County has 69 of the wells, second most in the state to the 70 in Wood County. Lorain has 61 and Ashtabula has 33.

By Peter Krouse, Cleveland.com