Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
ODNR says well-plugging accelerated; director cites contractor limits and $600 million in anticipated funding
Summary
Director Mary Mertz told the House Natural Resources Committee Ohio has doubled annual well plugging in the last year and plans to increase capacity further; she cited contractor shortages, a prioritization statute focused on public safety, and roughly $600 million in anticipated state and federal funding through 2035.
Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, told the House Natural Resources Committee that ODNR has ramped up work to plug orphaned oil and gas wells and expects significant funding over the next decade.
Mertz said the number of wells plugged rose from a long-running rate “of 20, 50 a year” to more than 400 last year and that the department’s near-term goal is 500. She said, “We doubled the number of wells that we plugged last year,” and that the state anticipates receiving “over $600,000,000 in state and federal funding between now and 2035,” though she added federal draws have paused at times and the schedule for federal funds…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
