The state Department of Land and Natural Resources has contracted with Water Resources International Inc. to plug and abandon two geothermal scientific wells in Pāhoa—SOH-1 and SOH-2.

Representatives from DLNR Engineering Division; the department’s consultant, Brown and Caldwell; and Water Resources International will attend the Puna Geothermal Ventures community meeting scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Pāhoa Community Center, 15-2910 Puna Road.

They will be available to answer any questions on the project.

Drilled in 1991 for research purposes to monitor temperature gradients down the shafts, the two wells are no longer used by the University of Hawai‘i or the DLNR for geothermal resource monitoring purposes.

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Initial site clearing and preparations are now ongoing at the site of SOH-1. Around Dec. 12, work will begin on plugging the well and restoring the area with SOH-2 to follow in a similar manner.

The project is expected to be completed in approximately three months.

Work hours will be limited to between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

The contract award amount for the plugging and abandonment of the two wells was $2,036,000.