Texas regulators grapple with a growing problem: old oil wells leaking polluted waterAustin American-Statesman, Odessa American Online, The Texas TribuneMedia Coverage | Feb 04, 2025

Two years after lawmakers created a $10 million program to address leaking wells in rural counties, none of the money has been distributed.

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By Alejandra Martinez

Hawk Dunlap stands at the site of Lake Boehmer, a brine lake that has leaked out of an old well in Pecos County. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality received $10 million from lawmakers in 2023 to plug such wells but has yet to spend any of the money as it completes the rule making process. Credit: Pu Ying Huang/The Texas Tribune

From the article:

Virginia Palacios, executive director of the watchdog group Commission Shift, says the agency is sidestepping its responsibility to plug the Lake Boehmer well and other P-13s.

“It’s crazy, because these are some of the most intense contamination situations that we have in the state right now, and they’re just choosing not to make it their problem,” she said.

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