Abandoned wells are a threat to the climate and public health.
Fossil fuel companies have left hundreds of thousands of inactive oil and gas wells scattered across the country. These abandoned wells threaten the climate and public health. But we’re fighting to hold Big Oil & Gas accountable for the mess it leaves behind.You can join us — make a gift to Food & Water Action.
Oil and gas companies are leaving a toxic mess all across the country and sticking taxpayers with the cleanup bill.
When oil and gas companies pump every drop of profit they can out of wells, they’re supposed to clean up after themselves and plug the wells. But corporate apathy and lax enforcement mean oil and gas companies are leaving dangerous “orphaned wells” behind for taxpayers to clean up.
Orphaned wells are inactive, unplugged wells that pose a significant environmental risk. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, these wells leak dangerous chemicals and methane, a climate-destroying greenhouse gas that is far more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2). In 2018, orphaned wells emitted as much methane as the CO2 equivalent of six coal-fired power plants!
Abandoned wells aren’t just in rural areas; they’re also buried under residential neighborhoods, office buildings, parking lots and stores. Yet despite the threat these wells pose to public health and the environment, corporate polluters aren’t even required to track the methane emissions from their abandoned wells. And regulators haven’t done much to plug the hundreds of thousands or even millions of these dangerous wells.
Big Oil & Gas is running roughshod over all of us. It’s responsible for our current climate crisis. Enough is enough! It’s time it takes responsibility for what it’s done.
That’s why Food & Water Action works every day to hold Big Oil & Gas accountable, ban fracking, reduce climate-destroying emissions and protect people from dangerous pollution.
We’re also working to push government agencies to create an orphaned well program — part of a just transition plan that would: safely plug abandoned wells; help support displaced fossil fuel workers with job training, education and relocation assistance; and invest in communities to develop clean new industries to replace fossil fuel jobs.
Food & Water Action and its affiliated organization, Food & Water Watch, are advocacy groups with a common mission to protect our food, water and climate.
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