The Gauley River National Recreation Area is getting some federal funds to help cap an abandoned gas well.
The National Park Service has received nearly $10 million in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to plug, remediate and reclaim abandoned oil and gas well sites in national parks.
One such orphaned well in the Gauley River National Recreation Area will be plugged with cement and its access road will be reseeded with native grass by next year.
The natural gas well – one of about 20 in the park – dates from the 1950s and has been inactive for around 20 years. Some of the wells in the park remain active.
The park service estimates that between 150 and 180 wells in national parks throughout the country are abandoned or orphaned and will need to be plugged and reclaimed.
This is part of a much larger federal investment to clean up legacy pollution across the country.