Kansas wants to plug abandoned oil wells that belch methane and swallow groundwater

Sometimes the signs that an old oil or gas well lies beneath the ground are subtle — a mysterious wet spot in a field, for example.
Last summer, a utility worker stumbled across a well — one of thousands of abandoned, unplugged oil and gas wells scattered across Kansas — just 15 feet from a stream in La Cygne, an hour south of Kansas City.

Such sites bear witness to the state’s history of fossil fuel production — and they can leak pollutants into the air and water generations after they’ve been forgotten.

Tens of millions of federal tax dollars will help the state seal thousands of openings over the next several years, though many will remain unaddressed.

Old wells in Kansas can date back to the start of oil and gas drilling in the region in the mid-1800s.

Operators behind unprofitable sites often walked away without plugging the holes properly — if at all.