Officials celebrate 200th orphaned or abandoned well plugged under Shapiro administration

State officials recently gathered in Butler County to plug the 200th orphaned or abandoned well under the Shapiro Administration.

This figure is higher than the total for the past nine years combined.

The administration has contracted approximately $28 million in plugging projects, and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has issued emergency plugging contracts when necessary to protect public health.

The governor’s 2024-25 budget proposes $11 million to continue identifying and plugging orphaned and abandoned wells, and Shapiro directed the DEP to use as much federal funding as possible to cap and plug orphaned and abandoned wells.

“By plugging orphaned and abandoned wells, we’re tackling a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions and creating thousands of good-paying jobs in the process,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said. “This is a smart, commonsense way to combat climate change, promote public health, and create jobs. In the coming days, I’ll be announcing a commonsense energy policy that further protects the public, creates energy jobs, and grows our energy economy so that we can lower costs for consumers and build on our Commonwealth’s legacy of energy leadership.”

There are an estimated more than 350,000 orphaned and abandoned wells statewide. These wells make up nearly 8 percent of total methane emissions.