Congress allocated billions of dollars in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to plug orphaned well sites across the country, and Pennsylvania is one of the states to receive the help.
The Keystone State is eligible to receive $188 million in Phase One formula grants, which are grants states do not have to compete for, but for which they must still apply and meet certain criteria. Pennsylvania plans to plug 227 wells.
Ted Boettner, senior researcher at the Ohio River Valley Institute, suggested the money could help create good-paying union jobs, which will create lots of opportunities for workers.
“One of them is to incorporate project labor agreements in these contracts. Another one is to ensure that there is apprenticeship utilization requirements,” Boettner outlined. “Say 25 to 50% of the workers would have to come from a federally approved apprenticeship program.”
Last month, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro issued an executive order to create an on-the-job training grant program with money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Boettner’s research showed those dollars could be vital in establishing the state’s first union apprenticeship program for well plugging and reclamation.
Boettner added grant requirements include provisions on how states can engage with energy workers and unions, and how they plan to partner with workforce development programs to plug the hundreds of thousands of wells in the region.
“The guidance asks states if they plan to incorporate high road development strategies, such as project labor agreements, local hiring provisions, Community Benefit Agreements, and whether contractors are responsible and pre-qualified,” Boettner explained. “And they say that states, have to plan to monitor whether a plugin job was successful.”
Boettner pointed out Pennsylvania will receive $306 million in total formula grants, including $76 million in the first phase. He emphasized the grants will give Pennsylvania the opportunity to ensure the money stays local, noting installing cement plugs and mud helps both the environment and the local economy.
