Department of the Interior BLM Nevada Environmental Quality and Protection

Deadline: 26-Jul-21

The Bureau of Land Management is seeking applications for its Nevada Environmental Quality and Protection Program to protect public health and safety, and restore watersheds for resources, recreation, fish, wildlife, and domestic animals, and return lands to productive uses including, but not limited to, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, and preservation of historical/cultural resources.

BLM’s AML program identifies and inventories abandoned hardrock mines and addresses those mines that pose a risk to public safety, human health, and the environment. Specifically, BLM’s AML program addresses physical safety hazards through a variety of closure methods including fencing, signing, backfilling, installation of bat-friendly grates, etc. The AML program addresses risks to human health and the environment from heavy metal-contaminated surface water, soil, sediments, air and groundwater through a variety of response actions.

Mitigation measures are implemented through core programs such as:

Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program, which addresses physical safety hazards and water quality through restoration of abandoned hardrock mines.
Orphan Well Program, which remediates oil and gas wells improperly abandoned, and seeks to plug them in accordance with state regulations and rules;
Educational outreach about the potential dangers posed to the public and recreationists from AML and orphaned well sites.

Objective

The objective of the Orphan Well Project is to remediate abandoned oil and gas wells to ensure the protection of public health and safety by eliminating known and potential sources of groundwater, surface water and air contamination, removing unnecessary well site infrastructure, and reclaiming land disturbance associated with oil and gas development. Site specific performance goals will be identified for each project funded and ultimate costs will be determined by approved site closure plans. Projects may involve a single orphan well, or a group of associated wells; while each orphan well location will require well plugging, other necessary work will be site dependent such that each site may need slope reconstruction, road/pipeline/electrical removal, production facilities removal and/or reseeding.

Funding Information

Estimated Total Funding: $ 500,000
Maximum Award: $ 250,000
Minimum Award: $ 50,000
Anticipated Number of Awards: 2

Outcomes

Project Outcomes:

Identify and prioritize abandoned mines and orphaned wells that most affect at-risk resources and functioning ecosystems.
Prioritize orphaned well site physical safety closure projects in a manner that is centrally focused on achieving cost-savings.
Develop methods to reclaim and restore sites impacted by past mining and/or drilling.
Reclaim abandoned mine lands to productive uses including, but not limited to, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, and preservation of historical/cultural resources.
Reduce inventory of unreclaimed abandoned mines and orphaned wells.
Reduce liabilities by eliminating or reducing risks posed by abandoned mines and orphaned wells
Reduce environmental degradation caused by abandoned mines and orphaned wells.
Establish partnerships, where possible, with States, local governments, Tribes, and voluntary environmental and citizen groups to pool resources and expertise to address abandoned mines.
Integrate abandoned mine land support into land use planning efforts.
Apply the “polluter pays” principle applied to achieve cost avoidance/cost recovery for funding AML projects wherever possible
Assure that remediation actions are effective and that lessons learned through postproject monitoring and study benefit risk- and pollution-reducing efforts
Educate the public about the potential dangers posed by abandoned mines and the actions the BLM takes to address those dangers.
Provide public outreach and education to interested stakeholders about the potential dangers posed by abandoned mines and orphan wells.

Eligibility Criteria

State governments
County governments
Special district governments
Private institutions of higher education
Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
City or township governments
Independent school districts
Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education