Federally Funded Well Plugging

Orphaned Well Site Plugging, Remediation and Restoration

The Railroad Commission of Texas is receiving federal funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to plug, remediate, and reclaim orphaned wells located on state-owned or privately owned land in Texas. Funding may also be used for other allowed activities including to remediate soil and restore native species habitat on land adjacent to orphaned wells, and to decommission or remove associated pipelines, facilities, and infrastructure.

Texas received $25,000,000 in Initial Grant funds in August 2022, and anticipates receiving $82,563,000 in the first allocation of Formula Grant funds in 2023. In total, Texas could receive approximately $318,695,000 in multiple rounds of Formula Grant funds based on current data estimates, in addition to the $25,000,000 in Initial Grant funds, for a total of $343,695,000. These amounts are subject to change.

The RRC will utilize its existing State Managed Plugging Program to oversee this effort, and will issue solicitations for contractors for well plugging. The solicitation process and other information are in the links below.

• Wells to be Plugged with IIJA Funds    |   Data Visualization
• Well Plugging Prioritization System 
• Sistema de prioridades para taponamiento de pozos 
• Statewide Rule 15 Related to Inactive Wells
• RRC Notice of Intent to Apply for Formula Funds 
• RRC Initial Grant Application 
• RRC Formula Grant Phase One Application 
• RRC Comments in Response to DOI Draft Initial Grant Guidance 
• RRC Comments in Response to DOI Draft Formula Grant Guidance 

Orphaned Well