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Thank Senator Bennet for working to clean up abandoned oil wells!
As oil and gas markets crash around the globe, Colorado and the United States are facing a looming crisis: thousands of oil and gas drilling sites could be left abandoned and un-reclaimed due to inadequate bonding regulations. Current rules allow oil and gas operators facing bankruptcy off the hook for reclamation and cleanup costs, leaving taxpayers paying the bill.
Orphaned oil and gas wells have been an issue for decades due to insufficient bonding requirements that have not been updated since the 1950s and the 1960s. Wells without funding to plug and reclaim often sit unmonitored for years or decades, leaking oil, gas, and brine that can pollute drinking water, contaminate land and the air, pose risks to public health and safety, and contribute to climate change.
Now, Senator Michael Bennet has introduced two bills that will address this crisis. The Onshore Oil and Gas Orphaned Well Remediation and Reclamation Bonding Reform Act, which will:
establish a new orphaned well fund and strengthen oil and gas bonding requirements
offer funds to state for cleanup of abandoned wells and associated infrastructure
prevent taxpayers from having to shoulder the burden of cleanup costs
protect landowners with split-estate federal minerals under their land from having to pay for expensive reclamation
Additionally, Sen. Bennet has also introduced the Public Engagement Opportunity on Public Lands Exploration (PEOPLE) Act of 2020, which will also make the oil & gas approval process more transparent and protective of landowners.
Please take a moment to thank Sen. Bennet for his legislation, which will genuinely help Western Colorado communities be more healthy, just, and self-reliant!
Please consider making a donation to Western Colorado Alliance! Every dollar helps in the effort to create, protect and maintain communities across western Colorado that are healthy, just and self-reliant.
Thank you for taking action to help our rural communities be healthy, just, and self-reliant. Together we can move forward to a "new normal" that helps us all. We will have more opportunities for action in the coming weeks, so please stay tuned for updates.
In the meantime, please help spread the word and share this action page with your next works! Here is the link: https://westerncoloradoalliance.salsalabs.org/tell-senator-bennet-thank-you