Here’s a true story about the West: An oil company leases some public land, drills a well, pumps the oil, and posts a $10,000 bond as its promise to clean up the site when the well runs dry. Years later, the company declares bankruptcy — or it simply walks away.
The well remains, leaking methane and salty wastewater into the ground for the foreseeable future. Plugging it could run north of $300,000. The company forfeits its $10,000 and vanishes. You and I cover the rest. That math rewards walking away, and it sat protected by federal regulation for more than 60 years.