Source: United States Senator for Ohio Rob Portman
Funds Made Available Through Portman’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
August 26, 2022 | Press Releases
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) applauded the announcement that the U.S. Department of the Interior will award Ohio an initial grant of $25 million to begin work to plug, cap, and reclaim orphaned oil and gas wells throughout the state. The money being awarded today was made available through Portman’s bipartisan infrastructure law.
“I am pleased that the Department of the Interior has provided Ohio with the much-needed resources to plug more than 170 orphaned oil and gas wells across the state,” said Portman. “Cleaning up these wells is an important way keep our communities and recreations areas safe, while also spurring economic growth. This is yet another example of how the bipartisan Infrastructure law is making a difference in Ohio.”
“The safety and protection of Ohioans and our landscape is a priority under the DeWine-Husted Administration,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. “Our Ohio Department of Natural Resources has worked hard for the past two years to expand their orphan well program and steadily increase the number of wells plugged each year. We look forward to the opportunity to make even more progress in plugging Ohio’s orphaned oil and gas wells.”
The State of Ohio has indicated that it will utilize this funding to plug between 170 and 320 documented wells, including many located in the Appalachian region. Funds will also be used to research how to track and measure methane. Ohio plans to sample private and public water supplies that are within 500 feet of an orphaned well before and after plugging.
The bipartisan IIJA provided a total of $21 billion to address legacy pollution, including funding to clean up brownfield and superfund sites, reclaim abandoned mine lands, and plug orphan oil and gas wells. Specifically, IIJA provided $4.7 billion to plug orphan wells.
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