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Courtesy: BLM (July 12, 2012) |
Sen. Lisa Murkowski is calling the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's approach to addressing abandoned wells in the Alaska Arctic "an embarrassment" to the federal government.
Her comments came during a Senate hearing in Washington, D.C., focused on the cleanup of so-called legacy wells in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
Murkowski was joined in the hearing by Alaska State Rep. Charisse Millett. Millett said if the State of Alaska had the ability to fine federal officials like it does private companies, the bill would be in the billions.
The wells were drilled under the federal government's direction as part of an exploratory oil and gas program between 1944 and 1981. They are currently managed by BLM.
BLM-Alaska has been working with the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to prioritize the plugging and reclamation of well sites.
A reclamation project can cost millions of dollars, largely due to mobilization costs. BLM-Alaska gets about $1 million a year to manage legacy wells.
Murkowski expressed frustration with the pace of progress.
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