Senate Republicans say inconsistent state standards have slowed down efforts to plug abandoned wells and the Department of Environmental Protection has been slow-walking efforts to fix the problem.

Proponents say when dealing with old wells, there are few if any records detailing the depth of the wells, meaning plugging efforts are delayed as contractors and inspectors haggle over what needs to be done to adequately seal the wells.

These abandoned wells are considered environmental threats because they emit methane and other pollution.

Senate Bill 712 adds new definitions for the terms “attainable bottom” and “reasonable efforts” to clarify expectations for well plugging contractors.

The legislation was approved by the state Senate last week.

At a committee meeting on the bill in May 2025, Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Lycoming, said agency officials were not in favor of the legislation.

“Our well plugging program has not moved as aggressively as it should,” Yaw said. “We’re talked about this issue for a couple years now and it’s paralysis by analysis rather than go ahead and do something … Maybe we can’t find the perfect thing but doing nothing is not acceptable.”

Asked if the agency had a position on the legislation, a Department of Environmental Protection spokesman told CapitolWire/State Affairs on Thursday that agency staff are monitoring the progress of SB 712.

In a memo seeking support for the bill, Yaw said that the problems working withPennsylvania inspectors have been driving plugging contractors to leave the state to take jobs in Ohio and West Virginia instead.

Adam Peltz, director and senior attorney for energy transition with the Environmental Defense Fund, said that the legislation should be revamped to add greater assurances that the plugging companies are doing enough to ensure that the well has been adequately sealed.

“This bill is not how I would solve it, but I think with some tweaks, it can be where you want it, which is to have some kind of performance standard to make sure that you’ve at least drilled down to the layers you want to isolate,” he said, adding that it would be more complicated and expensive to correct an improperly plugged well than insist it be plugged appropriately in the first place.

Peltz said that staffing shortages at the Department of Environmental Protection are likely contributing to the frustration of plugging company operators.

“Pennsylvania has probably more orphan wells than anyone with the possible exception of Oklahoma. And, you know, they’re older and they’re in worse shape and the geology of Pennsylvania is very complicated. It’s not an easy working environment,” he said.

The legislation comes as the administration of Gov. Josh Shapiro has been trying to make inroads in the daunting challenge of plugging a mind-boggling number of wells around the state.

The Department of Environmental Protection has plugged 339 abandoned wells since Shapiro took office in 2023. That’s only about 1% of the 30,000 known abandoned wells in Pennsylvania.

State officials say they plan to plug 150 wells this year. But the known abandoned wells are just a fraction of the total number of forgotten and abandoned wells dotting the landscape.

Since the first commercial oil well was drilled in Pennsylvania in 1859, as many as 300,000 to 760,000 oil and gas wells have been drilled in the state, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.

While it’s impossible to say how many unknown wells are abandoned around the United States, some researchers have concluded that Pennsylvania has more abandoned wells than any other state.

Lawmakers note that Pennsylvania is in line to receive upwards of $400 million in federal funds dedicated to plugging these legacy wells. They said clearing up the language about reasonable efforts to plug abandoned wells will allow the state to plug more wells, more efficiently.

Lawmakers say contractors can end up in a prolonged back-and-forth with state inspectors to determine what the depth of the well is. If contractors cannot reach the bottoms of wells, the state requires that they make “reasonable efforts” to reach the attainable bottom. However, different inspectors have different expectations about what reasonable efforts entail “leading to unpredictable costs, extended timelines” and planning challenges, according to proponents of the legislation.

SB 712 was approved by the Senate with bipartisan support in a 32-16 vote. Six Democrats joined all Republicans in voting in favor of the bill — Sens. Lisa Boscola, D-Northampton; Carolyn Committa, D-Chester; Marty Flynn, D-Luzerne; John Kane, D-Philadelphia; James Malone, D-Lancaster and Nick Miller, D-Lehigh.

SB 712 now goes to the House for consideration.