The Osage Nation is in the process of plugging an estimated 1,600 orphaned and abandoned wells in the county – although that number could be much higher for the 12-person crew tasked with the job.
To date they have plugged approximately 40 wells.
A report by Osage News is delving into the cleanup, which is being financed by a $19 million grant and carried out by the tribe’s Department of Natural Resources.
The Osage Nation Reservation has more than 43,000 oil and gas well sites, according to the Natural Resources department.
Abandoned wells are those for which some individual or company is identified as being responsible. An orphaned well is one in which no responsible party can be found, because the well operator died or declared bankruptcy, or the well was drilled so long ago that no records of it can be found.