Secretary of the interior visits Olathe to highlight abandoned oil and gas well clean ups

Abandoned oil and gas wells were the focus of U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland’s visit to Olathe Monday, with Haaland, Kansas 3rd District representative Sharice Davids and Kansas Corporation Commission officials highlighting $50 million in federal funding to plug the wells. 

Kansas has around 6,000 known abandoned oil and gas wells, including 34 in Johnson County. These wells emit methane into the air and can contaminate groundwater, and are often found within walking distance of houses. Abandoned wells feature rusty pipes and deep holes in the ground, like the ones just 100 yards away from the Virginia Sue Field of Dreams near 183rd and Pflumm in Olathe, where Monday’s press conference was held.

“Many of these wells have been left behind in backyards … recreation areas like this baseball field. Nearby schools and communities face something no community should ever have to live with,” Haaland said. “As I’ve traveled the country the past two years, I’ve seen firsthand how these sites threaten the water and the air and soil that families, businesses and schools rely on.”

Kansas has received several federal endowments to clean and plug these wells, including $25 million in September for Johnson and Miami counties through a federal infrastructure bill. Haaland announced another $660 million will be awarded across all states for similar projects, and Kansas will be eligible for another $25 million. 

She said the new funds come with regulations requiring methane emissions measurements for the wells and screening for groundwater and surface water problems.

“We want states to keep environmental justice at the forefront of these investments by prioritizing wells near communities that have been historically marginalized and underrepresented,” Haaland said. 

These projects go through the Kansas Corporation Commission, a government entity that oversees utilities like the wells, among other things.

Susan Duffy, commission chair, said the wells can date back the early 1900s and can be up to 1,400 feet deep. So far, about $13 million has been spent plugging 1,200 wells across the state — wells are plugged after a clean up of debris using cement in the gas and oil production zones. 

The commission plugs wells based on priority, using proximity to houses and people as the main criteria. Duffy explained there are ways to make sure new wells are plugged and companies held accountable when they are left — this happens in the form of an “assurance requirement,” where companies pay into a fund to make sure the wells are plugged.

The state has been plugging wells since 1997, averaging between 400 and 700 a year. Wells are either found using historic records and maps, or through calls to the commission from landowners.

“In years past it wasn’t unusual to find 300 a year because there was a lot of drilling going on in this state for oil and gas,” Duffy said. “This federal program; huge shot in the arm … to make a noticeable dent in our backlog of plugging abandoned wells."

Duffy said the $50 million in total funding won’t plug every well in the state, but it will cover decades of work in a short period of time.