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The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, comprised of 31 oil producing states, has asked the Trump administration to use coronavirus relief stimulus funds to pay laid off oil workers to plug abandoned wells. The proposal could be a win-win by addressing both an environmental problem and a growing economic problem from skyrocketing unemployment.
According to data from the Environmental Protection Agency, there are around 3 million abandoned oil and gas wells in the United States, two thirds of which are unplugged. That number is likely to grow due to unfavorable market conditions from decreased demand because of covid-19 and increased supply from foreign producers, which will drive many companies to declare bankruptcy.
Most states lack the resources to plug abandoned wells that are left by distressed operators, creating significant public safety and environmental risks. Kenneth Wagner, Oklahoma's Secretary of Energy and Environment said, "Oklahoma is certainly supportive of the idea around a stimulus similar to what has been done in Canada around plugging abandoned wells."
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Calling the rules unnecessary and burdensome to the fossil fuel industry and other businesses, [President Trump's] administration has weakened Obama-era limits on planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions 
