Citing the need to speed up the plugging of the state’s estimated 21,000 abandoned oil and gas wells, Gov. Patrick Morrisey on Thursday signed a bill designed to streamline and make less expensive the well-plugging process during a ceremony at Wheeling’s Heritage Port Amphitheater.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey is shown at Heritage Port Amphitheater in Wheeling on Thursday, May 15, 2025.
Governor’s Office | Courtesy photo
— which sailed through the House of Delegates with only one “no†vote, and cleared the Senate by a 33-0 vote — eliminates previous regulations requiring that most well casings and other well infrastructure be removed from orphaned wells prior to plugging.
Between 2022 and 2024, about 275 abandoned gas and oil wells were plugged in West Virginia, following many years in which the state Department of Environmental Protection managed to plug only a few abandoned wells annually, due to a lack of funding, according to DEP Secretary Harold Ward.
Ward, who was among speakers at Thursday’s ceremony, said that in recent years, the cost of plugging abandoned oil and gas wells typically has ranged from $60,000 to $120,000 each.
By making it possible to fill abandoned wells with concrete without removing well casings, the new legislation, Morrisey said, “will allow us to safely and more efficiently cap more wells than ever before, at less cost and with less red tape.â€
Unplugged abandoned wells, Morrisey said, pose potential threats to air and water quality due to methane leaking into the atmosphere and toxins entering groundwater aquifers.
Rick Steelhammer is a features reporter. He can be reached at 304-348-5169 or rsteelhammer@hdmediallc.com. Follow @ on X.
