In U.S. coastal and offshore waters, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, tens of thousands of oil and gas wells pose a growing environmental and financial liability. Of these, more than 7,300 offshore wells remain idled and await decommissioning, which could cost as much as $70 billion. Without cleanup, these […]
Pollution
3 posts
The Sabin Center’s newest publication, Legacy Liabilities for Oil and Gas Wells under the Mineral Leasing Act, examines the laws and regulations that allow the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) to pursue the prior owners and operators of oil and gas wells on federal land for the costs of plugging those […]
By Shawna Ganley. While the Clean Water Act prohibits discharge of pollutants into waterways, EPA regulations make exceptions for certain discharges in the event of extreme weather events, such as 10-year and 25-year storms. These exceptions run the gamut from toxic pollutants such as DDT, to waste from factory farm […]