WV Oil and Gas Industry Wants Feds to Pay for Plugging Abandoned Wells
The West Virginia oil and gas industry and the surface owners’ rights lobby want to shift the cost of plugging abandoned oil and gas wells to a federally funded program. Several bills introduced in the Legislature last session would have made oil and gas drillers themselves pay a fee for this purpose upon applying to the state for the right to drill. Making drillers pay the full cost of their operations, including the costs for cleanup after drilling ends, is the best way forward.
