An unprecedented amount of resources are flowing into Louisiana to help address abandoned oil and gas wells that present environmental and safety risks throughout the state. But according to a state audit, the money is nowhere near enough to get ahead of the problem, which continues to grow despite progress made in recent years.
State officials who oversee remediation of these orphan wells say a new entity under the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR) intends to better manage the problem — and find millions of dollars more to do so.
A Legislative Auditor’s report made public Monday indicates 976 orphaned wells were plugged in fiscal years 2020 through 2023, based on numbers from the Oilfield Site Restoration Program and the Louisiana Oilfield Restoration Association. Over that same period, nearly 1,700 new orphaned wells were reported to the DENR’s Office of Conservation.
Furthermore, the number of inactive wells — those with a high risk of becoming orphaned — increased 21.7% from August 2019 to April of this year, reaching 21,629.
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The audit connected the inability of the Office of Conservation to expand its orphaned well capping program to a state law that limits its ability to collect enough funding.
The audit report estimates it will take nearly $543 million to address the current number of orphan wells, but state law calls for oil and gas production fees to be suspended if the Oilfield site Restoration (OSR) Program fund exceeds $14 million. Additionally, the audit report notes the rate for gas production fees, which account for almost 80% of the program’s revenue, hasn’t been changed since 2004.
“The legislature may wish to consider removing the $14 million cap on the OSR Fund or increasing it based on the total estimated costs to plug orphaned wells, which would provide more adequate funding for addressing the growing orphaned well population,” the audit report said.
Another recommendation in the report suggests the Legislature consider increasing the production fee for gas wells or making the fee variable based on market prices, similar to the method the state uses to calculate oil production fees.
DENR Secretary Tyler Gray and Office of Conservation Commissioner Benjamin Bienvenu issued a joint response to the Legislative Auditor’s report. In response to multiple findings and suggestions, they referenced the Natural Resources Trust Authority, a subdivision of the department created through a legislative act earlier this year. It’s mission is to better manage the proper plugging and abandonment of oil and gas wells and to help other secure the funding needed for that work.
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An executive committee for the Trust Authority was appointed earlier this month, and the Department of Energy and Natural Resources is currently interviewing candidates for its executive director, according to DENR’s response to the audit report. State lawmakers will have to agree to fund the authority next year.
In summary, the Trust Authority is expected to better track and manage inactive wells while collaborating with other fiscal authorities — including the state Bond Commission and Mineral and Energy Board — to obtain a reliable funding stream to cap orphan wells, Gray and Bienvenu wrote.
Second audit questions industry-backed insurance
In a separate report, the Legislative Auditor evaluated how well the Office of Conservation monitors an industry-driven effort to address orphan wells. The Louisiana Oilfield Restoration Association (LORA) was created in September 2019 to help drillers meet state financial security requirements — or, put another way, the insurance — to plug wells if they are abandoned. LORA also collects fees from well operators to supplement the Oilfield Site Restoration Program.
Among the audit findings was that the Office of Conservation “does not conduct sufficient monitoring to ensure that LORA remains financially solvent …” LORA isn’t subject to federal or state regulations for financial institutions, so its operations and solvency aren’t tracked as closely as those of government-regulated banks.
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The Office of Conservation allowed LORA to increase the percentage of fees its collects for administrative purposes from 20% to 36% once it meets a minimum $5 million reserve balance.
Because the state office doesn’t keep tabs on LORA’s administrative spending, officials don’t know if the for-profit association expenses are reasonable, auditors said.
“As a result, LORA retained $1.1 million from June 2022 through December 2023 that could have been used to plug orphaned wells,” according to the report.
Over the same period, auditors also noted LORA paid more than $4 million in management fees — or more than 30% of operator fees paid to the association — to Arkus, a Baton Rouge company that shares the same address and chief executive as LORA.
Exactly what those payments covered is unclear, auditors said. The Office of Conservation has never asked LORA for detailed information on what administrative duties it’s paying Arkrus to perform or the company’s profits and salaries, the report said. As a result, the state doesn’t know if the wage increases were merited for expanded individual job duties or working longer hours.
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In its response, the Department of Natural Resources and Office of Conservation agreed with auditors’ recommendations to better monitor LORA’s administrative spending.
RUSTON, La. (KNOE) – Louisiana Tech University’s College of Education and Human Sciences announced it has established a new Center for Literacy and Learning designed to expand evidence-based reading support for children and professional development for educators across North Louisiana.
The university’s Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership said the launch of the Center for Literacy and Learning at Louisiana Tech, also known as L3, will provide diagnostic assessments, tutoring and workshop opportunities, combining academic research with hands-on clinical practice.
“As literacy rates and reading achievement continue to present challenges across Louisiana and the nation, the Center for Literacy and Learning is rooted in supporting evidence-based instruction, applied research, and community partnerships,” said Dr. Dustin Whitlock, interim department head of Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership.
Officials said planning for the center began more than a decade ago as faculty sought to expand literacy services for local schools and the surrounding community, but the effort faced delays due to space and funding challenges.
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University leaders said momentum increased after faculty partnered with the Louisiana Department of Education and literacy experts nationwide to create a professional learning course for Louisiana K-3 educators. The course, “The Science and Art of Teaching Reading,” focuses on structured literacy practices aligned with Science of Reading research. Louisiana Tech said funding connected to the course and the state education department helped make the center possible.
Megan Hunt, a teacher at A.E. Phillips Laboratory School, was selected to lead the center. Whitlock said Hunt brings a strong background in foundational literacy instruction and is working toward becoming a certified UFLI coach.
“Mrs. Hunt’s skill and expertise allow her to support both students and educators through high-quality literacy instruction and professional learning,” Whitlock said.
Hunt said the center is aimed at building long-term support for literacy instruction through collaboration with districts, families and community partners.
“Literacy affects all aspects of life and is ultimately how people access opportunity and how communities grow stronger,” Hunt said. “When children become proficient readers, it represents more than just academic progress; it changes the trajectory of their lives.”
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Local school leaders also praised the partnership. Michelle Thrower, K-2 facilitator for Lincoln Parish Schools, said professional development and resources connected to Louisiana Tech have supported literacy growth in the district.
“Our collaboration with Louisiana Tech has been a cornerstone of our success in elevating literacy proficiency across Lincoln Parish Schools,” Thrower said, citing DIBELS growth tied to the UFLI Foundations curriculum in K-2.
Louisiana Tech said the center will operate through three main components:
The Literacy Clinic
The Literacy Institute
The Literacy Resource Center.
The center is expected to provide individualized assessments, targeted intervention services, literacy workshops and educator professional development.
Officials said the components will be developed in phases over the next few years.
For more information, Louisiana Tech said the public can contact Dr. Dustin Whitlock at whitlock@latech.edu.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced Tuesday that Louisiana was one of the few states chosen for a $134 million rare earth element initiative in a move that would give the U.S. more independence from China, Reuters reports.
ElementUSA has been awarded about $67 million for a rare earth refining facility projected to cost $850 million in St. John the Baptist Parish to ramp up its production of core material for military vehicles, naval ships and aircrafts.
Louisiana’s rare earth element initiatives are aimed at relocating the critical American minerals supply chain for electric vehicles, renewable energy and national defense. The minerals include bauxite residue, which is a waste product from aluminium production. The plant is expected to produce roughly 150-1,000 metric tons of rare earths annually.
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Oklahoma was also chosen to receive grant money for a refining facility in Tulsa.
A Department of Homeland Security watchdog report revealed that staff members at an ICE detention center in Louisiana used a prohibited chokehold to “gain control” of a person being held there and stabbed another in the hand with a pen when an officer could not close the door to a housing unit.
The newly released findings about Winn Correctional Center in central Louisiana follow the DHS inspector general’s review of video of the use-of-force incidents as part of an unannounced facility inspection. The report, which was published on the DHS website, also noted that the officer who stabbed the detainee with a pen was disciplined.
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Staff members failed to maintain safe and sanitary conditions, the report says, noting leaking vents and ceilings with insulation falling through. Staff members used napkins and Styrofoam containers to collect the water from the leaks, according to the report.
Scrutiny of conditions inside ICE detention centers that house more than 60,000 detainees has been growing.
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Earlier Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended his agency’s detention standards on Capitol Hill amid complaints about ICE’s Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, New Jersey. That center has been the site of frequent protests.
Rep. Tim Kennedy, D-N.Y., accused Mullin of leaving detainees without food or medical care.
Mullin rejected the claims. “You can say all you want, but don’t accuse me of something that’s not accurate,” he said.
The inspector general made nine recommendations, ranging from environmental health and safety standards to proper handling of use-of-force incidents and maintaining food service standards.
ICE is working to address all of the issues, including by providing additional staff training, a spokesperson for the agency said.
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“These minor infractions included failing to provide detainees exercise equipment, record keeping errors and leaking vents. Another infraction included providing a shared computer for legal research that would allow other detainees to see other detainees’ case information,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for DHS said the report shows that the facility complies with detention standards.
“ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens,” the spokesperson said.
Winn Correctional is one of the largest ICE detention centers in the country, housing more than 1,500 men. It opened in 1990, and ICE took it over from the state in 2019.
The report was produced after an unannounced inspection by the DHS inspector general, whose office recently got an infusion of $20 million and plans to boost its inspections from four to six per year to potentially as many as 40 to 60.
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ICE lists 70% of the 1,500 detainees at Winn as having “No ICE threat level,” meaning they do not have violent criminal histories.
Winn is an hour north of Alexandria, which is one of four hubs for ICE deportation flights around the country.
