Louisiana Wildlife Federation has a long history of pushing for closing abandoned and unplugged oil and gas wells and criticizing the burden placed on the public to do so.
To continue the effort, LWF has signed onto a letter urging Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry to ensure that the oil and gas industry honors its obligations to Louisiana’s coast by plugging the thousands of inactive wells that blight the state’s coastal waters and wetlands before they become the state’s responsibility.
“Now’s the time,” the letter states, “to set out an affirmative vision for getting the oil and gas industry to clean up the dangerously aging wells it has left behind.” The letter was authored by Healthy Gulf and Center for Biological Diversity and joined by LWF and others.
Our state continues to grapple with over 6,300 documented abandoned and unplugged oil and gas wells threatening the health and safety of the surrounding community from methane emissions. The effort to compel industry to plug unused wells has been a hard-fought battle that has resulted in only a fraction of those wells plugged and many being abandoned. It will take increased enforcement to identify the companies responsible and millions in investment for that to become a reality.
This history gives rise to concerns about the state’s commitment to adequately monitor and hold permit holders accountable for the responsible management, maintenance and disposition of these new carbon dioxide pipelines and wells. We are hopeful the state has learned from its past mistakes and will be more diligent in enforcing the laws and rules its application promises to uphold.
Prioritizing cleanup of offshore and coastal wells is critically important. Inactive wells are at risk of leaking oil, gas, and other toxic chemicals, which can poison drinking water, smother coastal wetlands, sicken fish and wildlife, and devastate the workers whose livelihoods depend on a clean and healthy coast.
Among the letter’s recommendations:
- Track down former operators and require them to plug wells before they are declared orphaned.
- Prioritize getting the industry to plug offshore and coastal wells, which are at high risk of failure, are most likely to impede coastal restoration efforts, and are the most costly and complicated to plug.
- Close the loophole that allows operators to pay an inactive well fee in lieu of plugging idle wells.
- Focus on entire oilfields, rather than individual wells, prioritizing those with the richest species and habitats and the most spills, leaks, and maritime hazards.
Read the full comment letter here: https://lawildlifefed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026-10-26_Inactive-well-cleanup-request-Gov-Landry.pdf