Biden's infrastructure plan includes $16 billion to clean up old oil and gas wells, abandoned mines

"President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion plan to transform America’s infrastructure includes $16 billion to plug old oil and gas wells and clean up abandoned mines, a longtime priority for Western and rural lawmakers from both parties," Matthew Daly reports for The Associated Press. "Many of the old wells and mines are located in rural communities that have been hard-hit by the pandemic. Biden’s plan would not only create jobs, but help reduce methane and brine leaks that pollute the air and groundwater. Methane is a powerful contributor to global warming."

The hundreds of thousands of orphaned wells and abandoned mines cause ongoing environmental damage and pose serious safety hazards to nearby communities. Well and mine operators must post bonds meant to cover clean-up costs, but they're often inadequate. And, perhaps signaling a trend, a judge recently allowed the bankrupt Blackjewel coal mining company to walk away from reclamation costs on some of its abandoned mines. More communities could be left on the hook for cleanup costs if future rulings break that way, making federal investment all the more important.

"The Interior Department has long led efforts to cap orphaned wells — so named because no owner can be found — but does not assess user fees to cover reclamation costs. Bond requirements for well operators, when known, are often inadequate to cover full clean-up costs. Biden’s plan, which needs approval by Congress, would jump-start the well-capping effort and expand it dramatically," Daly reports. "Similarly, the White House plan would exponentially boost an Abandoned Mine Land program run by Interior that uses fees paid by coal mining companies to reclaim coal mines abandoned before 1977. About $8 billion has been disbursed to states for mine-reclamation projects in the past four decades, but Biden’s plan would ramp up spending sharply."