WASHINGTON - State officials from North Dakota and New Mexico said federal funding for plugging tens of thousands of so-called orphan oil and gas wells would provide jobs to out-of-work energy service employees and reduce water and methane pollution. Some states have articulated that they lack adequate funding to plug and remediate such wells and that an oil market crunch will further exacerbate the problem if failing companies shirk cleanup duties.

Democratic Sen. Heinrich and Representatives Luján and Torres Small called for new federal funding. Daniel Raimi, a senior associate for think tank Resources for the Future, said a $1.4 billion program could create 13,000 jobs. North Dakota Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms backed the concept, noting his state is already using CARES Act funding to put oil and gas workers in the field to plug wells.

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