Heinrich Statement On New Funding For New Mexico To Create Jobs Cleaning Up Orphaned Oil And Gas Wells
$43.7 million in the first phase of funding available to New Mexico for orphaned well clean-up to create good-paying jobs, ensure healthy communities, and revitalize rural economies
WASHINGTON (Jan. 31, 2022) - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, welcomed $43.7 million in the first phase of funding available to New Mexico from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to create jobs cleaning up orphaned oil and gas wells across the state.
“Orphan wells are an enormous source of methane, a greenhouse gas that is 86 times more potent than CO2. With this new funding we’re putting our traditional energy workers to work solving a major climate challenge,” said Heinrich.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated a total of $4.7 billion to create a new federal program to address orphan wells. The U.S. Department of the Interior today released the amount of funding that states are eligible to apply for in Phase One, which were determined using the data provided by states that submitted a Notice of Intent (NOI) indicating interest in applying for a formula grant to fund the proper closure and cleanup of orphaned wells and well sites.
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