Jun. 21, 2022
HARRISBURG – State Rep. Jim Struzzi (R-Indiana) wants in-state workers to have the first opportunity to solve a decades-old environmental problem.
“Pennsylvania has more than 200,000 abandoned oil and gas wells and has done a poor job over the last few years of paring down that number,” said Struzzi. “Current practice by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) limits the ability for some Pennsylvania companies to bid on these projects and many of these well-plugging contracts go to out-of-state companies, which makes no sense. My legislation would change that.”
Struzzi’s
House Bill 2528 now moves to the Senate following bipartisan support in the House. The legislation would allow any Pennsylvania company to bid for a contract DEP awards for plugging oil and gas wells, regardless of the size of the company.
“My legislation does not rule out DEP being able to look out of state when awarding a contract if they are unable to find a qualified in-state company,” Struzzi added. “But when the department is barely hitting double digits annually in number of wells plugged and an Indiana County business tells me they were ignored when trying to bid a job, we have to look for a better way and prioritizing the Pennsylvania worker is a place to start.
“Pennsylvania will be receiving more than $400 million dollars from the federal government to address these orphaned wells. My legislation would ensure local companies and their employees can benefit from this tremendous opportunity. This is pro-economic growth Pennsylvania-first legislation.”
Questions about this or any state government issue should be directed to Struzzi’s Indiana district office at 1-724-465-0220.
Watch Video below.
Representative Jim Struzzi
62nd Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Scott Little
717.260.6137 (office), 717.497.5937 (cell)
Slittle@pahousegop.com
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