Colorado is getting another $25 million from the Department of the Interior to assist in cleaning up and plugging 106 of more than 1,100 orphan oil and gas wells in the state to prevent methane leaks.

The agency confirmed the grant last week in a news release saying the grant from President Joe Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is to “address hazardous sites will help create good-paying union jobs, catalyze economic growth and revitalization, help protect public health and the environment from harmful methane leaks, and advance environmental justice.” 

The money will also help pay for equipment decommissioning, remediation and restoration at approximately 200 additional sites where wells were previously plugged.

“Governor Polis is grateful for this $25,000,000 from the Biden-Harris Administration that will invest in Colorado communities, (and) create good jobs…,” Shelby Wieman, deputy press secretary for Gov. Jared Polis told The Denver Gazette. “This investment helps expand the State’s work to plug orphaned wells which can present both safety and environmental harms. These efforts are good for our communities and it’s good for our environment.”

The grant is part of a $4.7 billion federal program to plug orphaned wells nationwide.

Colorado received $79 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill in February 2022.

“As part of the awards, Colorado, Illinois and West Virginia will detect and measure methane emissions from orphaned oil and gas wells, screen for groundwater and surface water impacts, and seek to prioritize cleaning up wells near overburdened and disadvantaged communities,” according to the release.

Orphan wells are those that are abandoned when the owner goes out of business or disappears, leaving behind wells that may be leaking methane, derelict equipment, tanks and polluted ground.

“Toxic orphaned oil and gas wells have plagued American communities for generations. President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is empowering states across the country to address this long-standing environmental injustice by making a historic investment to plug these wells, which will create jobs and revitalize local economies,” said Secretary Deb Haaland in the release.

Plugging a well involves removing various down-hole parts, including the rod and pump that lift oil to the surface, and much of the well casing and then using special cement to seal the well bore permanently, according to Greenfield Environmental supervisor Chris Rice.

Greenfield specializes in plugging and remediating such wells and does methane leak quantification to verify the well no longer leaks.

“Orphan Wells are a constant nagging source of pollution, but they’re also ticking time bombs,” said Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper previously. “You end up with a lot of these wells that were drilled by small operators, people that didn’t have the resources to properly plug them and make sure that you don’t have methane seeping out.” 

“Since the enactment of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, states have plugged more than 7,700 orphaned wells. Nationwide, investments through the Department’s new program are estimated to have supported over 7,200 jobs and contributed more than $900 million to the economy over the last two fiscal years,” according to the release.