Abandoned Wells Pose Long-Term Risks for West Virginians

West Virginia has hundreds of abandoned oil and gas wells that aren’t properly plugged, and according to the Ohio River Valley Institute, the state is doing fewer inspections and issuing fewer notices of violations. With an estimated 50,000 abandoned oil and gas wells, Ted Boettner with the Institute says wells leaking toxins and lowering property values, need addressed more aggressively…

“The state has been able to take advantage of federal funds and increase state funds to deal with it, but it would take decades to deal with this problem at its current pace.  And if that happens at an increasing rate going forward, that will mean billions of dollars in cleanup costs that will be passed from operators onto state residents.”