Colorado oil and gas wells can’t fund their own cleanup. Taxpayers may foot the bill
www.theguardian.com
A Carbon Tracker report shows the cost to safely shut down low-producing wells is $3bn more than what they earn
  • Admiral Patrick@dubvee.orgEnglish
    24·
    5 months ago

    We have this problem in WV, too, but also with coal mines.

    Mining companies have to put up reclamation bonds to get permits, but those bonds aren’t even close to the cost of cleanup. So companies just abandon ship, forfeit the bonds (which are far less than the cost of cleanup/remediation), and the taxpayers are left to foot the cleanup bill. In the meantime, they leach heavy metals and other toxic crap into nearby communities.

    • generichate1546@lemmynsfw.com
      1·
      5 months ago

      I read an article in Colorado what’s happening is due to some sort of legal loophole companies are able to spin off their unprofitable Wells into a tertiary corporation and then that company can go bankrupt and because it has no assets of any value

  • ironhydroxideEnglish
    21·
    5 months ago

    Sounds like the companies should have thought of that when deciding to drill.

    Fine them for every cent spent

  • thejevans@lemmy.ml
    11·
    5 months ago

    I’m personally working on this problem. It sucks, and the politics are frustrating as hell, but the people working at the State of CO to reign in oil and gas are making every penny of funding work as hard as it can.

      • thejevans@lemmy.ml
        4·
        5 months ago

        I honestly don’t really know. I know that The Environmental Defense Fund and The Clean Air Task Force have a strong presence in the state, so it may be worth donating or volunteering for them.

  • mindbleach
    9·
    5 months ago

    Those poor independent little oil wells. Totally disconnected from kajillion-dollar global industries.

    • silence7@slrpnk.netOPM
      8·
      5 months ago

      That’s the idea: extract the oil, pay out everything as dividends or share buybacks, and then sell the well to a doomed-to-fail company which can declare bankruptcy and leave the public responsible for cleaning up the mess. The oil industry has a long history of taking advantage of inadequate bond requirements for oil wells to do exactly that.

  • SapphironZA
    6·
    5 months ago

    Maybe limited liability should not apply to negligence.

    Change the laws so you can go after the shareholders other assets.

  • casmael@lemm.ee
    3·
    5 months ago

    So if you can’t handle the liability then maybe don’t do it idk. If I was king heads would roll.

  • set_secret@lemmy.world
    2·
    5 months ago

    In Australia, a similar situation occurs where mining companies receive significant subsidies, pay minimal taxes, generate billions in revenue and profit, and leave taxpayers responsible for site remediation costs amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. Despite these subsidies, Australians do not benefit from cheaper products or electricity. Much of the mined resources are exported, and Australia often buys them back at significantly higher prices. And yet, apparently, Australians are okay with this.