A new set of measures has been announced by the Biden Administration to combat methane pollution.
The Department of the Interior is providing the states with $1.15 billion in funds to close abandoned oil and gas wells, according to Upstreamonline.
The federal program was established by President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which earmarked $4.7 billion.
“President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is enabling us to confront the legacy pollution and long-standing environmental injustices that for too long have plagued underrepresented communities,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced in a statement.
“We must act with urgency to address the more than one hundred thousand documented orphaned wells across the country and leave no community behind. This is good for our climate, for the health of our communities, and for American workers.”
As reported in The Washington Post, the Interior Department calculated last month that there are 130,000 abandoned oil and gas wells in the U.S.
In 2018, however, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that there were potentially between two and three million abandoned oil and gas wells.
According to a study from McGill University and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), about nine million people live within a mile of an abandoned well, and these wells can emit a number of gasses, including methane.
“It’s a pretty big problem that’s flown under the radar for a long time,” said Adam Peltz, the senior attorney for the EDF who approves of the new measures.
Plugging wells can provide unionized, well-paying jobs as well as prevent climate pollution and protect vulnerable communities, the Interior Department stated. Reports indicate that $100 million will be given to Texas and Pennsylvania, and another share of funds among the 26 states that submitted notices of intent last year.
In some cases, environmentalists believed the administration could do more to prevent abandoned wells from causing harm.
“Addressing these existing wells is an important first step,” said Mahyar Sorour, a Sierra Club deputy legislative director.
“But unless it’s paired with bonding reform that requires oil and gas companies to cover these costs up front, the industry will continue to leave behind toxic wells on our public lands and expect taxpayers to cover the cost of cleaning them up.”
A number of methane-reduction plans were announced by the Biden Administration on Monday, including the well-plugging initiative.
Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas, 84 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, yet persists in our atmosphere for a shorter time.
Last year, the Biden Administration pushed for a 30 percent reduction in methane emissions by 2030 under the Global Methane Pledge, as per the White House fact sheet report.
Over 110 countries have signed the pledge with U.S. assistance. President Biden unveiled the U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan at the COP26 climate summit.