There are currently 56,660 known orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells in the United States as reported by the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact, (IOGCC), an organization comprised of 31 states. The most recent IOGCC report estimated there could be as many as 211,000 - 746,000 additional unkown orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells in the United States.  The EPA estimates there could be as many as 2.1 million orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells in the United States.

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Using the smallest number of wells, the known 56,600 gives scale to the need for action now not later. These known 56,600 wells represent 56, 600 known opportunities for water, soil, and atmospheric contamination waiting to happen. The only way to know the scale of the problem is to start addressing the problem and developing data while doing so.