Governments are often too quick to spend money and too late on almost everything else.
Between the federal and state governments, hundreds of millions of dollars have been committed to solving the problem. “Orphan” Wells – Oil and gas wells abandoned decades ago by defunct companies without the necessary remediation to prevent or reduce environmental damage.
There are 350,000 such wells in Pennsylvania. Or maybe there are more than 700,000 such wells in Pennsylvania. It costs about $18,000 to plug each well. Or $33,000. or $68,000. Alternatively, more difficult wells can cost $110,000 each.
That's because Pennsylvania has incomplete data and lack of clarity about how the federal government's prevailing wage requirements affect the cost of work, according to a Center Square article in Friday's edition of the Sun-Gazette. It is said that this is because efforts are being made in the absence of this.
We should all be puzzled as to why these expenditures were included in a budget that spends our tax dollars without these questions already being asked and answered.
We believe the state should identify and plug the most problematic orphan wells. However, we also believe that before the government starts pouring such huge amounts of money into this effort, the authorities should study this issue more comprehensively and thoroughly, and consider which wells should be prioritized, such We believe it should have been determined how many wells there would be and how much they would cost. Levels per well can be kept at the most prudent level.
It is understandable that the government's approach of literally spending money first and asking questions later only reinforces voters' fears that MPs and authorities are inadequate stewards of our tax dollars.
