skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Conservatives Seek Reforms for "Orphan Wells" on Public Lands

play audio
Play

Wednesday, November 24, 2021   

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Build Back Better Act making its way through Congress includes reforms for oil and gas production on public lands first introduced by the Reagan administration.

Dave Jenkins, president of the group Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship, said the measure includes common-sense solutions for so-called orphan wells, sites where companies have walked away from their obligation to clean up after production.

"They are shifting that cost to you and me," Jenkins contended. "They're making the profit, and we're getting the bill. It's not a bunch of bureaucratic red tape; it's a simple fix. All we have to do is require bonding amounts that reflect the actual cost of cleanup and reclamation. "

There are more than 740,000 orphan wells across the U.S., according to the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, including some 7,000 in Texas.

Jenkins explained after wells are tapped out, many producers declare bankruptcy, which shifts the cleanup cost to taxpayers. Those same companies often adopt a different name and get back to work at new sites.

Build Back Better would increase the royalty rates companies pay for extracting resources owned by all Americans. Industry groups have long claimed higher fees would blunt production, but Jenkins disagrees.

"Texas, for example, charges double the royalty rate that the federal government does for drilling on state lands in Texas," Jenkins pointed out. "That hasn't dampened demand for drilling on state lands in Texas at all."

Jenkins' group is also calling on the Biden administration to direct the Bureau of Land Management to stop treating public lands as though oil and gas extraction was their primary purpose.

"So, they're not managed for outdoor recreation, or hunting or fishing, or water supply or grazing. They are being managed for oil and gas," Jenkins asserted. "That's an enormous lost opportunity. We should be looking to use our public lands for their highest and greatest use."


get more stories like this via email
more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021