Illinois Taxpayers Face $1 Billion Bill To Clean Up The Mess From 1,000s Of Abandoned Oil & Gas Wells
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Now, a new report suggests those pumpjacks — and the inactive oil and gas wells that lie below them — are more than just relics of a bygone industry. They also could be environmental time bombs lurking underground, threatening to expose Illinois taxpayers to more than $1 billion in future clean-up costs.
“The majority of Illinois’s 30,000+ wells are likely producing little to no oil, yet are still not properly plugged, emitting toxic and climate pollutants and threatening air and drinking water relied on by nearby communities,” the report states. The report is based on research from the Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law and the environmental advocacy group ClientEarth USA.
It says the potential liability facing the state may be much larger than officials have acknowledged so far. But it also says the lack of reliable data about the working status of oil and gas wells in the state, coupled with the state’s weak regulatory framework, makes it hard to know the exact size and scope of the threat Illinois faces. Thus, it’s nearly impossible to hold drilling companies accountable for paying the costs themselves.
“The fundamental point is, whatever amount of a problem we’ve got, it’s the industry’s responsibility to deal with it, and that’s what the system is not achieving,” Robert Weinstock, director of Northwestern’s Environmental Advocacy Center and lead author of the report, said in a recent interview.
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https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/taxpayers-could-be-on-the-hook-for-millions-in-cleanup-costs-from-oil-and-gas-wells/
