During the summer of 2015, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) requested assistance from EPA-R6 with several abandoned oil wells leaking crude oil and posing a substantial threat to discharge oil into Lake Oologah and its tributaries. These wells are within the boundaries of the former EPA Lake Oologah Oil Spill Project were EPA-R6 and the OCC addressed over 1000 wells discharging or threatening to discharge oil into the lake and its tributaries by plugging and abandonment (P&A). The project was completed in 2012 with the understanding that the infrastructure of many of the wells that were not leaking at the time will eventually start to deteriorate and pose a threat or an actual discharge of oil. FOSC Bernier assessed the referred locations and corroborated the information for at least 13 wells that needed P&A. As a result the FOSC determined that it was imperative to re-assess additional areas within the former project to determine if additional wells required P&A.
