Interior announces first phase of grants to stop methane leaks from oil and gas wells, totaling $560 million; rural jobs!

Advocates of measures to fight climate change argue that the actions will create jobs, but most of those are likely to be in urban areas that have advanced manufacturing. But one aspect of the infrastructure bill that Congress passed this spring seems likely to do more for rural areas.

That is the $4.7 billion that the bill appropriated for plugging old oil and gas wells that are leaking methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The Interior Department announced Thursday that 24 states will share the money. "Thursday’s funding is part of a phase-one investment of $1.15 billion," The Hill reports. "Officials say there are more than 129,000 abandoned oil and gas wells across the country."

In Kentucky, which is estimated to have up to 14,000 unplugged or leaking wells, the state will get $25 million to plug up to 1,200 in the first phase, and estimates that the work will create 180 jobs. "Kansas has more than 2,300 wells and Oklahoma has about 1,196" in the first phase, Brad Drees of The Hill reports. "Six states, including California, Mississippi and West Virginia, will begin measuring methane emissions at wells they plug up and remediate."