"The Interior Department has signed an agreement with several other federal agencies to organize its nationwide effort to clean up orphaned oil and gas wells.
Congress directed a historic $4.7 billion toward plugging abandoned wells on federal, tribal and private lands when it passed the bipartisan infrastructure package in November.
The law directs Interior to take the lead in carrying out the program on public lands and distributing funding to states and tribes.
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by Interior Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau last week, and disclosed publicly today, also details the agency’s planned collaboration with the departments of Energy and Agriculture, as well as EPA and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission."
