Montana may be known for its stunning grass plains, but what most people don’t know is that there are many unplugged oil wells across the state’s farmlands that leak thousands of metric tons of greenhouse gasses such as methane each year. They can also leach toxins into groundwater and surface water systems, contaminating aquifers.

More often than not, these wells simply aren’t being cleaned up. That’s in part because a lack of funding and political will has stymied the state’s cleanup efforts, and in part, because there’s uncertainty around the ownership of these wells.

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