Oil and gas companies must agree to completely clean up, plug, and fully restore drilling sites once they finish with them prior to drilling on public land. Despite agreeing to this, oil and gas companies continue to abandon that obligation. Leaving taxpayers like you and me left on the hook for as much as $13.7 billion in future clean-up costs.
Unfortunately, we are the ones left with the bill. Now is the time to enact proper safeguards that protect taxpayers and to finally make sure that oil and gas companies clean up after themselves. Unless the Biden administration and Congress step up to the plate, this issue will persist and cost you and me billions in clean-up costs.