LARGE-SCALE OIL SPILL REMOVALAND WELL PLUGGINGAT LAKE OOLOGAH, OKLAHOMA

摘要

The United States EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) has recently forged a cooperativepartnership with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission(OCC) and the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board(OERB) to address substantial environmental threats posedby hundreds of leaking oil wells near Lake Oologah(pronounced oo l(e) gah), Oklahoma. The leaking wells arepart of a large, aging, and declining oil field in and aroundLake Oologah. Since the field began production in the early1900s, many wells have been either incorrectly pluggedand abandoned or were not plugged and abandoned at all.As a result, hundreds of wells are discharging orthreatening to discharge crude oil into tributaries of theLake Oologah watershed.Based on the enormity of the site (approximately 26,000acres or 42 square miles), EPA developed a pilot project tomitigate the threats posed by these wells. As part of thepilot project, EPA identified leaking wells in two 640-acresections using remote sensing techniques (color infraredaerial survey) and ground truthing. Once the wells wereidentified, the three agencies began jointly conducting alarge removal action. EPA, with assistance from OCC, isplugging and abandoning wells that are discharging orthreatening to discharge oil to navigable waters of theUnited States. In addition, OERB is removing surfaceequipment, tanks, and flow lines, and oil-contaminatedsoils.