GILLETTE, Wyo. — A $1.1 million investment will aid in cleaning up 12 orphaned well sites in Wyoming, according to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
The funds come through an investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which will be put to use on wells in Hot Springs, Park, and Washakie counties, the BLM says.
According to a July 29 release, the contract to plug these orphaned wells was awarded on July 11, with work beginning this summer. The project will restore the disturbed surface and remove debris, surface equipment and any contaminants left by the previous operators.
Per the BLM, an opportunity to reclaim the sites following the completion of the plugging will be announced in the future.
Methane emissions from each site will be measured to determine the final impact of the project as it reduces methane released into the atmosphere, the BLM says.
According to the release, this year’s restoration funds are part of a multi-year, $4.7 billion investment by the U.S. Department of the Interior, which is looking to plug and reclaim hundreds of orphaned wells and restore public lands, national parks, national forests and national wildlife refuges across the U.S.
Per the BLM, these investments tackle the long-standing problem of orphaned wells on public lands by supplementing the agency’s annual appropriated funding to address it, eliminating dangerous conditions and pollution caused by past extraction activities.
