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Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Neil Kornze spent yesterday visiting ongoing cleanup work on legacy wells in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A), a 22.1 million-acre roadless area located 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The U.S. Geological Survey and U.S Navy drilled 136 test holes within and adjacent to the NPR-A for oil and gas resource exploration and gathering of geological data. The BLM was given responsibility for managing the NPR-A in 1976 and has been assessing, plugging, and remediating legacy wells since 1982. Kornze traveled to Cape Simpson near Barrow where he helped in the capping of the Simpson Core Test # 30A site, a dry hole that was drilled by the U.S. Navy in 1951 to determine the limits of production for the Simpson Oil Field. Kornze also visited the Iko Bay # 1 well site, which was drilled by the Navy in 1975. This site was leaking methane into the atmosphere through failed wellhead components. At both well sites, Kornze met with representatives from Alaska Native-owned small businesses which have contracted with the BLM to complete the cleanup work. "The Bureau of Land Management has redoubled its efforts to clean up the unplugged wells that are spread through many parts of the National Petroleum Reserve," said BLM Director Kornze. "We have come a long ways in just a few years. The current cleanup efforts would not have been possible without the support of Senator Murkowski and the Alaska delegation who secured $50 million in funding to support the BLM's work." Over the last few years, the BLM has worked closely with the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to assess the condition of all 136 legacy wells and to identify those that are still in need of plugging and other types of remediation. In September 2013, the agency issued a strategy laying out plans and priorities for cleaning up the 50 wells that were identified as needing additional attention and on-the-ground work. In 2014, the BLM spent $10 million of the $50 million provided through the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013 to plug three legacy wells at Umiat, located in the eastern portion of the NPR-A, and to conduct surface clean up at well sites on Cape Simpson. In December 2015, the BLM contracted with Marsh Creek, LLC, and Olgoonik Construction Services, LLC, for the remaining $40 million in funding from the Helium Stewardship Act to plug and clean up an additional 18 legacy wells that require work. Both companies are Alaska Native-owned small businesses. Marsh Creek began work on 11 of these legacy wells in the Cape Simpson area in mid-February, and will begin work on 4 wells in the Barrow area in mid-March. Additional funds will be needed to complete cleanup the remaining 29 legacy wells, either through new appropriations from Congress or from alternative funding sources. In previous cleanup efforts beginning in 2002, the BLM and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plugged and remediated 21 priority legacy well sites at a cost of $99 million. These projects were undertaken prior to the Helium Stewardship Act funding and prior to the issuance of the 2103 strategy. Many of the legacy wells pose surface and sub-surface risks to human health and the environment. The BLM assumed management responsibilities for the NPR-A in 1976, and in 1982 inherited the responsibility to assess, plug, and clean up the well sites. This is Director Kornze's fifth visit to the Arctic during his time with the agency. Photos from the trip are available at this link.