Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis Statement on Biden Administration Grant Awarded to State Lands Commission to Reduce Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas Operations 

For Immediate Release
Friday, December 15, 2023
Contact: Press@ltg.ca.gov, (916) 445-8994

Sacramento  – The Biden administration awarded the State Lands Commission a nearly $22 million grant to monitor and reduce methane emissions from oil and gas operations and to restore well sites.  Lieutenant Governor and State Lands Commission Chair Eleni Kounalakis issued the following statement regarding the announcement: 

“Many of California’s most disadvantaged communities have long felt the harmful effects of methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. Thanks to this funding from the Biden Administration, California will be able to reduce methane emissions from the highest emitting oil and gas wells – bringing us closer to achieving our goal of carbon neutrality by 2045.”

Methane is the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and is responsible for 20% of global warming. The grant awarded to the Commission is part of the federal Inflation Reduction Act funding to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. The grant funding will enable the Commission to work with oil and gas operators to plug and abandon marginal conventional wells on non-federal lands, monitor methane emissions, and restore well sites. The Commission applied for this funding on the state’s behalf, which will create good-paying jobs, reduce air pollution, and boost the state’s effort to tackle the climate crisis.

Link for more information about the grant.  

About the Commission: The Commission, comprised of the Lieutenant Governor, State Controller, and Governor’s Director of Finance, manages over 4 million acres of tide and submerged lands and the beds of navigable waterways. The Commission administers the state’s coastal hazard and legacy well removal and remediation program. The Commission is a leader in the fight against climate change and transitioning away from fossil fuel to clean energy, managing a portfolio of renewable energy leases and working to bring offshore wind energy to California.