HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania has documented some 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells that potentially pose environmental and health risks to communities.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) has cosponsored the bipartisan Abandoned Well Remediation Research and Development Act (AWRRDA) to find and plug oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania.

Through this act, Pennsylvania would have the resources to protect the environment from methane emissions and create stable jobs. The legislation would address the challenge of documenting and plugging the true number of abandoned wells in the state.

Co-sponsors include U.S. Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK). 

Casey had earlier secured $109.2 million from the federal infrastructure act for well remediation in Pennsylvania.