States with orphaned oil and gas wells will receive $775 million to clean them up, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced Wednesday. Funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the department will give 21 states grants to help reduce methane leaks and risks to groundwater.

What You Need To Know

  • The Interior Department will grant $775 million to 21 states to clean up orphaned oil and gas wells

  • It is the third round of funding for orphaned well cleanups provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

  • The money will be used to help reduce methane leaks and risks to groundwater

  • Orphaned wells pose serious safety and health risks

“These investments are good for our climate, for the health of our communities and for American workers,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.

There are at least 100,000 orphaned oil and gas wells across the country, left over from fossil fuel companies that abandoned them. 

About 30 states have legacy pollution sites that need cleanup, including California which has more than 5,000 orphaned wells, 1,335 of which are within Los Angeles.

Costs for individual well cleanup range from as little as $15,000 to as much as $500,000 for a job that involves removing tanks and pipelines and cleaning up soil, according to the California Oil and Gas Supervisor. 

The Interior Department said such wells pose serious safety and health threats because they contaminate ground and surface water, release toxic air pollutants and leak methane. 

The third round of funding for well plugging is part of $4.7 billion designated through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which has already helped states plug more than 8,200 orphaned wells. The department has so far awarded about $1 billion in grants for orphaned well cleanup.