Illinois Landowner Grant Program Accepting Applications

SPRINGFIELD, IL – Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director Marc Miller announced today that private property owners in Illinois can receive funding assistance to plug abandoned oil and gas wells located on their property.

The IDNR Office of Oil and Gas Resource Management, which administers the program, is now accepting applications from qualifying landowners. 

“The Landowner Grant Program is an important cooperative effort between private property owners and the IDNR which helps individuals to return their property to its original use,” Director Miller said.

Plugging is the process of removing production equipment and decommissioning a well that is no longer in use by sealing the well, usually by filling it with cement and drilling mud to a prescribed depth and restoring the well site to its pre-production condition.

For detailed information on the application process, a list of eligible wells and a copy of the application form, follow this link: http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/OilandGas/Pages/ProgramsandRegulations.aspx

Copies of the application form also can be obtained by contacting the Office of Oil and Gas Resource Management, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL 62702-1271, phone (217) 782-7756.