"Interior Secretary Deb Haaland visited the Pittsburgh area Thursday to announce the plugging of the first 10 abandoned oil and gas wells in the area paid for with funds from the 2021 infrastructure law.

But with 27,000 known abandoned oil wells to plug across Pennsylvania and possibly hundreds of thousands more left to discover, the announcement underscored the daunting task ahead for Congress and the federal and state agencies in charge of finding and capping oil and gas wells.

Haaland, standing in front of a derelict oil well in Ed and Mary Vojtas’ front yard in Ohio Township, Pa., said the well is leaking gas and will be one of the state’s first to be plugged with federal infrastructure money.

“These wells emit methane, they litter the landscape with rusted dangerous equipment posing safety hazards and threats to wildlife,” Haaland said. “Many of these wells have been left behind in backyards.”"

Bobby Magill reports for Bloomberg Environment February 9, 2023. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Billions Spent On Abandoned Oil Wells Scratch At Ignored Problem" (Bloomberg Environment) [3]