Plugging abandoned oil and gas wells could help save the environment – and jobs

Drilling for oil and gas has a long history in the U.S., dating all the way back to 1859 when the first successful commercial oil well — the Drake Well — was drilled in northwestern Pennsylvania. This long history has made the state ground zero for abandoned wells, which often leak dangerous pollution into the environment and potent greenhouse gases like methane into the air. Berardelli: "So this is a win-win. We're stopping methane from getting into the atmosphere and we're putting a lot of people to work?"

It is estimated there may be a few hundred thousand abandoned wells in Pennsylvania — some located in the woods, along riverbanks, in people's yards and even inside their homes. These wells are left behind — orphaned to the state — after their owners, often oil and gas companies, go bankrupt or when the wells fall into disrepair. Boettner: "Yeah, absolutely. These are economically distressed areas that suffer greatly from the deindustrialization and the collapse of the coal industry as well. This is about creating jobs where people want to work and want to live and not about training them, or dislocating people to places they don't want to be." Once in state hands, it is the government's responsibility to plug the wells when they break. The EPA estimates there may be over 2 million abandoned wells across the nation.