Pennsylvania has at least 27,000 documented abandoned wells including “orphan” wells

Abandoned Well Remediation Research and Development Act would improve well detection and documentation practices and measure effects of well pollution on the environment

Millions of Americans live within just one mile from an abandoned coal mine or an orphaned oil and gas well

Casey has secured $109.2 million from infrastructure law for orphan well remediation in PA

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) cosponsored the bipartisan Abandoned Well Remediation Research and Development Act (AWRRDA) to advance methods for detecting and remediating abandoned oil and gas wells, which put Pennsylvania’s environment and communities at risk. This legislation would establish a research program at the U.S Department of Energy (DOE) to develop improved ways to identify abandoned wells and understand the impact of their pollution on the environment and on Americans’ health and safety. Identifying and plugging abandoned wells will create good-paying jobs and protect the Commonwealth’s beauty and natural resources for generations to come.

“The only way to protect our Commonwealth from abandoned wells’ dangerous methane emissions is to make sure that we can find and plug all the wells. This legislation will help us to locate more wells and better understand their impact on our communities,” said Senator Casey. “I won’t stop fighting to protect Pennsylvania’s natural resources until these hazards are cleaned up.”

The Abandoned Well Remediation, Research, and Development Act would support DOE efforts to develop efficient, economical, and sustainable methods to identify and plug abandoned wells. This legislation would create an abandoned well research program at DOE that focuses on a range of key technology areas to further understand methane emission rates, low carbon lightweight cement, technology to improve remote plugging, ways to repurpose wells for geothermal power, and technology to understand impacts of abandoned wells on groundwater. Through AWRRDA, the Commonwealth would have access to new resources to plug wells, protect the environment from dangerous methane emissions, better understand how to manage abandoned well pollution, and create good, stable jobs.

Senator Casey has long pushed to find and plug the thousands of orphan and abandoned wells across the Commonwealth. Senator Casey voted for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which passed with an Orphan Wells Program provision to address legacy pollution, including methane emissions and water contamination. While Pennsylvania has at least 27,000 documented abandoned wells, the true number of undocumented wells is estimated to be three to five times that figure.  Little is known about how many abandoned wells remain undocumented, how much methane they leak, and how much they pollute other natural resources. Additionally, the current funding offered through the infrastructure law for well plugging provides little support for detection, mapping, and improving well-plugging operations.AWRRDA would authorize new funding to support well detection so that the full scope of the abandoned well problem is understood. This legislation would also help experts and lawmakers understand the true impacts of abandoned wells’ methane pollution and help direct future well documenting and plugging initiatives.

Senator Casey has consistently delivered funding to Pennsylvania to plug orphaned wells throughout the Commonwealth. In January 2022, Senator Casey secured $104 million from IIJA to create jobs plugging orphaned oil and gas wells. In June 2023, Casey delivered more than $5.2 million from the Department of the Interior (DOI) to plug approximately 48 orphaned oil and gas wells in Allegheny National Forest.

The Abandoned Well Remediation Research and Development Act is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK).

Read more about the Abandoned Well Remediation Research and Development Act here.