There are tens of thousands of orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells across the state of Pennsylvania.

Two members of Pennsylvania’s Congressional delegation – Glenn Thompson and Chris Deluzuio, a Democrat whose district is in the Pittsburgh area – have put forward a bill aimed to give states maximum flexibility when plugging these wells.

“Pennsylvania’s oil and gas sites ushered in the modern petroleum industry, which helped lead the United States to become a global power and energy producer,” Thompson said. “Now, we must ensure these sites are properly and safely restored.

The bill was introduced in the House on Thursday.

“The Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act will cut red tape, accelerate environmental rehabilitation, and provide an economic benefit throughout oil and gas producing regions.”

The representatives say in a joint statement that these wells – either unplugged or improperly plugged – “can pose serious environmental threats to surrounding communities such as water contamination, methane emission, and can introduce other harmful pollutants to the local ecosystem.”

The legislation “removes unnecessary burdens on state agencies regarding certain testing procedures, which will maximize federal dollars and lead to more wells being plugged.”

They say there are over 27,000 documented orphaned and abandoned wells in Pennsylvania.

The real number is likely many times higher.

“Abandoned, non-operating oil and gas wells are dangerous to the public, the environment, and people’s livelihoods,” Deluzio said. “Unfortunately, Western Pennsylvania has one of the highest concentrations of abandoned wells in the country–including at least 25 just in Beaver County and 219 in Allegheny County.”

Deluzio said that the 2021 infrastructure law allocated $4.7 billion to plugging these wells and that this legislation will “help get these federal funds to plug more abandoned wells faster.”