Two Indigenous Nations in Oklahoma to receive funds for orphaned wells

Over $12 million in grant funding will be distributed to Indigenous nations, including two nations in Oklahoma, to clean up legacy pollution through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

As part of phase two of the project to clean up legacy pollution and plug orphaned wells, the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma will receive $3,707,129 in program development and implementation grant funding, and the Osage Nation will receive $1 million in program development grant funding.

According to the Department of Interior, the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma will use the funds to verify and assess up to 20 orphaned wells identified during phase one of the project. Once the wells have been verified and assessed, they will plug the wells and remediate well sites.

The Osage Nation will build on inventory, assessment and plugging activities conducted during phase one of the project and develop remediation plans by documenting environmental degradation, creating map boundaries of contaminated areas and prioritizing well sites with the greatest environmental risk moving forward.

Neither the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma nor the Osage Nation responded to requests for comment prior to publication.

According to the Orphaned Wells Program Office of the Department of Interior, there are at least 17,865 orphaned wells in Oklahoma as of November 2023. The Environmental Defense Fund found that there are more than 81,000 documented orphaned wells across the United States.

A heatmap published by the Environmental Defense Fund shows that most orphaned wells in Oklahoma are located in eastern Oklahoma, particularly northeast Oklahoma.

The fund said that Okmulgee County had the largest number of orphaned wells in the state with 1,637. Nowata, Washington, Creek, Rogers and Key were close behind with total abandoned wells ranging from 1,172 for Key County to 1,472 located in Nowata County.

As of 2022, Oklahoma has begun work to plug 1,196 orphaned wells through funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“State oil and gas regulators intend to work with other state agencies to identify and address tracts in overburdened communities that need to be remediated,” according to the Department of Interior. “Additionally, Oklahoma will collaborate with federally-recognized Tribes to plug wells within their historic boundaries.”

Orphaned wells can cause pollution and lead to health risks. Orphaned wells are abandoned oil and gas wells with no known operator or are unable or willing to be plugged.

“Orphaned oil and gas wells have the potential to jeopardize public health and safety by contaminating groundwater, seeping toxic chemicals, polluting drinking water sources, emitting dangerous pollutants and harming wildlife,” a press release by the Department of Interior said. “Methane leaking from many of these unplugged wells is a severe safety hazard and is a significant cause of climate change, being more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.”

Research by PSE Health Energy found that at least 3 to 6 percent of total methane emissions in the United States are from orphaned oil and gas wells.

“Millions of Americans across the country live within a mile of an orphaned oil and gas well, which are polluting backyards, recreation areas and community spaces across the country,” a 2022 press release by the Department of Interior said.

Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, $4.7 billion was allocated for orphaned well site plugging, remediation and restoration. $4.3 billion is allocated to be used to plug orphaned wells on state and private lands. $250 million will be used to cap orphan wells on public lands. $150 million will be used to cap orphan wells on Tribal lands.

PSE found that, due to inflation and the discovery of previously undocumented orphaned wells, the $4.7 billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is not enough. PSE found an additional $1.6 billion to $3.7 billion is needed to plug all orphaned wells in the United States.

In 2022, StateImpact Oklahoma reported that researchers from the University of Oklahoma were awarded $1.7 million by the United States Department of Energy to repurpose orphaned wells to provide geothermal energy.

Research by PSE found that the location of many orphaned wells provides an opportunity to support underground storage of carbon dioxide, hydrogen and natural gas. They also found that plugging and remediating orphaned wells could create a job market for thousands of potential workers.

“The historic investments to clean up these hazardous sites will create good-paying jobs, union jobs, catalyze economic growth and revitalization and reduce dangerous methane leaks,” a 2022 press release by the Department of Interior said.

Kevin Eagleson is reporting from Gaylord News’ Washington bureau this fall as part of an OU Daily scholarship.

Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. For more stories by Gaylord News go to GaylordNews.net