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AAAS EPI Center Working Group on Orphaned Wells

In September 2021, the AAAS EPI Center formed a working group of experts to address orphaned and improperly abandoned oil and gas wells. This interdisciplinary network of experts will share evidence and approaches and identify opportunities to share expertise to help inform policy decisions.

The AAAS EPI Center convened the working group to:

  • Share information with peers across disciplines and sectors
  • Leverage current knowledge and explore best practices or novel solutions
  • Identify existing data gaps and uncertainties to design policy-relevant research questions
  • Develop materials that provide information to help build awareness
  • Connect policy- and decision-makers with expertise and information

Members

David D. Andrews, Orphaned Well Program Manager, Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC)

Bruce Barker, County Attorney, Weld County, Colorado

Brett Bennett, President, Native State Environmental; Vice President, Rife Energy Operating, Inc.

Todd Boesiger, Deputy Director, Nebraska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission

Ted Boettner, Senior Researcher, Ohio River Valley Institute

Charlie Burd, Executive Director, Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia

Diana Burn, Engineering Supervisor, Orphaned Well Program Manager, Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) East Region

Shannon Chollett, Western Region Orphaned Well Program Supervisor, Orphaned Well Program Manager, Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC)

Ben Davis, Technical Program Coordinator, Montana Board of Oil & Gas Conservation

Grace Gallagher, Mineral Resources Specialist, Division of Mineral Resources, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Peter Gallagher, Advisor – Orphan Wells, Office of Policy, Management and Budget, U.S. Department of the Interior

David Hardie, Director, Liability Strategy Closure and Liability Branch, Alberta Energy Regulator; Chair, Council of Regulatory Officials, Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission

Jason Harmon, Deputy Chief, Office of Oil and Gas, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

Marilu Hastings, Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer, The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Michael Hickey, Orphan Well Program Supervisor, Orphaned Well Program Manager, Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC)

James Hix, Environmental Protection Specialist, Orphaned Well Program Manager, Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) - Orphaned Well Program, Colorado Department of Natural Resources

Jim Hughes, West Environmental Protection Specialist, Orphaned Well Program Manager, Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC)

Brad Ice, Field Operations Manager, Oklahoma Corporation Commission

Austin Igleheart, Policy Associate, Energy, Environment and Transportation Program, National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)

Ben Jones, Administrator/Petroleum Engineer, Montana Board of Oil & Gas Conservation

Mary Kang, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, McGill University

Sara Kendall, Program Director and Director of the Washington, DC Office, Western Organization of Resource Councils

Kurt Klapkowski, Director, Bureau of Oil and Gas Planning and Program Management, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

Tom Kropatsch, Oil and Gas Supervisor, Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission

Ted Loukides, Chief, Oil & Gas Compliance and Enforcement Section, Division of Mineral Resources, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Jason Marshall, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances, Berry Corporation

Jason Maxey, Director, Weld County Oil & Gas Energy Department

Keith May, Engineering Specialist, Oil and Gas Division, Railroad Commission of Texas

Mike McGinnis, Deputy Director, Oklahoma Corporation Commission

Tom Murphy, Director, Marcellus Center of Outreach and Research (MCOR), Pennsylvania State University

Drew Nelson, Staff Petroleum Engineer, Abandon/Orphan Wells Plugging, Nebraska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission

Natalie Pekney, Research Engineer, National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy

Adam Peltz, Senior Attorney, Energy Program, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)

Luke Plants, Chief Operating Officer, Plants and Goodwin, Inc.

Daniel Raimi, Fellow, Resources for the Future; Lecturer, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan

Jack Renshaw, President, C&J Well Services; Executive Vice President, Well Services Division, Berry Petroleum

Eilis Rosenbaum, Research Engineer, National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy

Seth Shonkoff, Executive Director, PSE Healthy Energy; Visiting Scholar, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley; Affiliate, Environment Energy Technology Area, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

Jason Simmerman, Natural Resources Engineer, Division of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Trem Smith, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, Berry Corporation

Arthur Stewart, President, Cameron Energy Company

Robyn Strickland, Director, Oklahoma Corporation Commission

Amy Townsend-Small, Associate Professor, Department of Geology and Geography and Department of Environmental Science, University of Cincinnati

Donna Vorhees, Director, Energy Research Program, Health Effects Institute (HEI)

Cassandra Whitford, R&D Associate, Tradewater, LLC

Rob Young, West Environmental Protection Specialist, Orphaned Well Program Manager, Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC)

 

Last updated June 2023

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