"Fossil fuel companies going bankrupt in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic are expected to leave behind thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells, and some congressional Democrats are calling for a federal program to ensure they’re cleaned up.

There are 56,000 known abandoned oil and gas wells in the U.S., leaking methane and other air and water pollutants, said Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) during a Monday House Natural Resources subcommittee Democrats’ forum.

“Huge numbers” of oil and gas companies are poised to go bankrupt, and Congress can create a program to pay the cost of remediation, he said."

Bobby Magill reports for Bloomberg Environment June 1, 2020. [2]