LEXINGTON, Ky. — The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) has released draft guidance to states on how to apply for the first $775 million in grant funding under President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to create jobs cleaning up polluted and unsafe orphaned oil and gas well sites across the country. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $4.7 billion to address orphaned wells across the country.

The DOI announced Jan. 31, 2022 that $1.15 billion has been made available to states, with Kentucky receiving $103,981,000. Kentucky was one of 26 states that applied for funding and received the eighth-highest amount. Closure costs can average between $25,000 and $475,000 per well, according to a report from Resources for the Future.

Kentucky has 14,367 such wells, accounting for nearly 18% of the roughly 81,000 documented wells in the country, according to a report by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Wells no longer in operation and have no owner of record require tribes, and state and federal governments to shoulder the cleanup cost.

Kentucky’s orphaned wells are concentrated in the state’s western, southern, and eastern parts, with the highest number of wells in Lee County, followed by Cumberland and Ohio counties. EDF Senior Attorney Adam Peltz said the Ohio Valley region has such a high number because Kentucky had some of the country’s earliest oil and gas development.

Millions of Americans across the country live within a mile of an orphaned oil or gas well that pollutes backyards, recreation areas and public spaces across the country, according to the DOI. These investments to clean up these environmental and safety hazards will create high-wage union jobs, catalyze economic growth and revitalization, and shut down harmful methane emissions, according to the DOI.

“The Department of the Interior is moving quickly to implement President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” said DOI Secretary Deb Haaland. “We are committed to getting these funds to states and communities as quickly as possible to confront legacy pollution and long-standing environmental injustices that have been allowed to fester for far too long. With so many communities looking forward to this program, we are eager to hear from diverse voices to review and provide feedback on this draft guidance.” 

The draft guidance provides draft instructions to states on how to apply for initial orphaned well grants of up to $25 million under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, as well as guidance on how states can ensure activities funded under the program create jobs, protect the environment, invest in disadvantaged communities consistent with Biden’s Justice 40 Initiative, and safeguard taxpayer money in a transparent and responsible manner.

In fiscal year 2022, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) is providing AML grants to 24 coal-producing states and two Tribal AML Reclamation Programs, according to a congressionally mandated formula. The grant formula is based on past and current coal production, and the program is funded in part by a fee collected on all coal produced in the United States. Under this program, OSMRE has provided more than $8 billion to reclaim lands and waters that were mined or affected by mining prior to 1977, when the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) was enacted by Congress.

States will also be eligible for formula and performance grants under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Guidance for those applications will be informed by comments received on the initial grants draft guidance and will be released at a later date. 

Comments on the guidance can be emailed to orphanedwells@ios.doi.gov by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on March 30, and will help inform any changes.