I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2415 

To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require the Secretary of the 

Interior to establish a program to permanently plug, remediate, and 

reclaim orphaned wells and the surrounding lands and to provide funds 

to States and Tribal Governments to permanently plug, remediate, and 

reclaim orphaned wells and the surrounding lands, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 8, 2021 

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ (for herself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. 

CASTOR of Florida, and Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 

Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require the 

Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to permanently plug, remediate, and reclaim orphaned wells 

and the surrounding lands and to provide funds to States 

and Tribal Governments to permanently plug, remediate, 

and reclaim orphaned wells and the surrounding lands, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Orphaned Well Clean3 up and Jobs Act of 2021’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ORPHANED WELL SITE PLUGGING, REMEDIATION, 

5 AND RESTORATION. 

6 Section 349 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public 

7 Law 109–58; 42 U.S.C. 15907) is amended to read as 

8 follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 349. ORPHANED WELL SITE PLUGGING, REMEDI10 ATION, AND RESTORATION. 

11 ‘‘(a) FEDERAL PROGRAM.— 

12 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in co13 operation with the Secretary of Agriculture and af14 fected Indian Tribes, shall establish a program not 

15 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

16 this section to permanently plug orphaned wells and 

17 remediate and reclaim orphaned wells located on 

18 land administered by the land management agencies 

19 within the Department of the Interior and the De20 partment of Agriculture. 

21 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—The program under para22 graph (1) shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) include a means of identifying, char24 acterizing, and inventorying orphaned wells on 

25 Federal lands and ranking orphaned wells for 

26 priority in permanent plugging, remediation, 


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1 and reclamation, based on public health and 

2 safety, potential environmental harm, and other 

3 land use priorities; 

4 ‘‘(B) distribute funding according to the 

5 priorities identified under subparagraph (A) 

6 for— 

7 ‘‘(i) permanently plugging orphaned 

8 wells; 

9 ‘‘(ii) remediating and reclaiming well 

10 pads and access roads associated with or11 phaned wells; 

12 ‘‘(iii) remediating soil and restoring 

13 native species habitat that has been de14 graded due to the presence of orphaned 

15 wells; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) remediating lands, including ac17 cess roads, adjacent to orphaned wells and 

18 decommissioning or removing pipelines, fa19 cilities, and infrastructure associated with 

20 the orphaned well; 

21 ‘‘(C) provide a public accounting of the 

22 costs of permanently plugging, remediating, and 

23 reclaiming each orphaned well; 

24 ‘‘(D) seek to determine the identities of po25 tentially responsible parties associated with the 


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1 orphaned well, or their sureties or guarantors, 

2 to the extent such information can be 

3 ascertained, and make efforts to obtain reim4 bursement for expenditures to the extent prac5 ticable; 

6 ‘‘(E) to the maximum extent possible, sup7 port research and development efforts aimed at 

8 investigating, measuring, and tracking emis9 sions of methane and other gases associated 

10 with orphaned wells; 

11 ‘‘(F) measure and track contamination of 

12 groundwater or surface water associated with 

13 orphaned wells; and 

14 ‘‘(G) reduce the negative effects of or15 phaned wells on environmental justice commu16 nities. 

17 ‘‘(3) DEFINE ORPHANED WELL.—Not later 

18 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

19 section, the Secretary shall issue a final rule defin20 ing the term ‘orphaned well’ as such term applies to 

21 Federal and Tribal land for the purposes of this sec22 tion. 

23 ‘‘(4) IDLED WELLS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

25 through the Director of the Bureau of Land 


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1 Management, shall annually review all idled 

2 wells on Federal lands and take such measures 

3 as such Director determines appropriate to re4 duce such Director’s idled well inventory. 

5 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION OF IDLED WELL.—Not 

6 later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

7 of this section, the Secretary, acting through 

8 the Director of the Bureau of Land Manage9 ment, shall establish a definition for the term 

10 ‘idled well’ for the purposes of this section. 

11 ‘‘(5) COOPERATION AND CONSULTATIONS.—In 

12 carrying out the program under paragraph (1), the 

13 Secretary shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) work cooperatively with the Secretary 

15 of Agriculture, affected Indian Tribes, and the 

16 States within which Federal land is located; and 

17 ‘‘(B) consult with the Secretary of Energy 

18 and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Com19 mission. 

20 ‘‘(b) STATE ORPHANED WELL SITE PLUGGING, RE21 MEDIATION, AND RESTORATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

23 ‘‘(A) ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall 

24 provide funding to States as described in this 

25 section for any of the following purposes: 


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1 ‘‘(i) To permanently plug, remediate, 

2 and reclaim orphaned wells located on 

3 State- and privately-owned land. 

4 ‘‘(ii) To identify and characterize un5 documented orphaned wells on State and 

6 private lands. 

7 ‘‘(iii) To rank orphaned wells on State 

8 and private lands based on factors includ9 ing public health and safety, potential envi10 ronmental harm, and other land use prior11 ities. 

12 ‘‘(iv) To make information regarding 

13 the use of funds received under this sub14 section available on a public website. 

15 ‘‘(v) To measure and track emissions 

16 of methane and other gases associated with 

17 orphaned wells. 

18 ‘‘(vi) To measure and track contami19 nation of groundwater or surface water as20 sociated with orphaned wells. 

21 ‘‘(vii) To remediate soil and restore 

22 native species habitat that have been de23 graded due to the presence of orphaned 

24 wells. 


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1 ‘‘(viii) To remediate lands, including 

2 access roads, adjacent to orphaned wells 

3 and decommission or remove pipelines, fa4 cilities, and infrastructure associated with 

5 the orphaned well. 

6 ‘‘(ix) To take such measures as such 

7 State determines necessary to reduce the 

8 negative effects of orphaned wells on envi9 ronmental justice communities. 

10 ‘‘(x) To administer a program to 

11 carry out activities described in clauses (i) 

12 through (ix). 

13 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Except for funds re14 ceived by a State under paragraph (2)(A)(ii), a 

15 State may not use more than 10 percent of the 

16 funds received under this section in any fiscal 

17 year for the purpose described in paragraph 

18 (1)(A)(x). 

19 ‘‘(2) INITIAL GRANTS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

21 distribute— 

22 ‘‘(i) not more than $25,000,000 to 

23 each State that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) is a Member State or Asso2 ciate Member State of the Interstate 

3 Oil and Gas Compact Commission; 

4 ‘‘(II) requests funding under this 

5 clause not later than 6 months after 

6 the date of enactment of this section; 

7 ‘‘(III) has at least one docu8 mented orphaned well; 

9 ‘‘(IV) certifies to the Secretary 

10 that such State can use at least 90 

11 percent of the requested funding to 

12 issue new contracts, amend existing 

13 contracts, or issue grants for perma14 nent plugging, remediation, and rec15 lamation work within 180 days of re16 ceipt of funds; and 

17 ‘‘(V) describes to the Secretary 

18 how funds received under this clause 

19 will employ individuals who have lost 

20 employment during the period begin21 ning on March 1, 2020, and ending 

22 on the date on which such State re23 quests funding under subclause (II); 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) not more than $5,000,000 to 

2 each State that— 

3 ‘‘(I) requests funding under this 

4 clause; 

5 ‘‘(II) does not receive a grant 

6 under clause (i); and 

7 ‘‘(III) certifies to the Secretary 

8 that— 

9 ‘‘(aa) such State has a per10 manent plugging, remediation, 

11 and reclamation program for or12 phaned wells or the capacity to 

13 start such a program; or 

14 ‘‘(bb) such funds will be 

15 used to conduct the administra16 tive work necessary to put to17 gether an application to receive 

18 funds under paragraph (3). 

19 ‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall 

20 disburse funds to a State under this subpara21 graph not later than 30 days after such State 

22 makes a certification to the Secretary that such 

23 State is eligible to receive such funds. 

24 ‘‘(C) 2 YEARS TO EXPEND FUNDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A State that re2 ceives funds under this paragraph shall re3 imburse the Secretary in an amount equal 

4 to the amount of any unobligated funds 

5 that remain 2 years after the date on 

6 which such State receives funds under this 

7 paragraph. 

8 ‘‘(ii) USE OF REIMBURSED FUNDS.— 

9 The Secretary may use funds reimbursed 

10 under this subparagraph to carry out any 

11 activity under subsection (a)(2). 

12 ‘‘(D) REPORT.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 

14 months after the date on which a State re15 ceives funds under this paragraph, such 

16 State shall submit a report to the Sec17 retary detailing how the State adhered to 

18 the certifications required by subparagraph 

19 (A). 

20 ‘‘(ii) PUBLIC ACCESS.—The Secretary 

21 shall make available on a publicly acces22 sible website each report submitted under 

23 clause (i). 

24 ‘‘(3) FORMULA GRANTS.— 

25 ‘‘(A) FORMULA.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

2 shall establish a formula for the distribu3 tion of funds under this paragraph to the 

4 States described in clause (ii). Such for5 mula, with respect to an applicant State, 

6 shall account for the following factors: 

7 ‘‘(I) The job losses in the oil and 

8 gas industry between March 1, 2020, 

9 and the date of enactment of this sec10 tion. 

11 ‘‘(II) The number of documented 

12 orphaned wells and associated facili13 ties and the projected cost to perma14 nently plug and reclaim such wells. 

15 ‘‘(III) The amount of oil or gas 

16 produced in 2019, as determined by 

17 the Administrator of the Energy In18 formation Administration. 

19 ‘‘(ii) NOTIFICATION.—A State is de20 scribed in this clause if, not later than 45 

21 days after the date of enactment of this 

22 section, such State submits a notice to the 

23 Secretary that such State intends to sub24 mit an application under subparagraph (B) 

25 and includes in such notification the inforVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2415.IH H2415

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1 mation described in subclauses (I) through 

2 (III) of clause (i) with respect to such 

3 State. 

4 ‘‘(iii) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary 

5 shall, not later than 30 days after the date 

6 described in clause (ii), publish on a public 

7 website the amount that each State de8 scribed in clause (ii) is eligible to receive 

9 under the formula established under clause 

10 (i). 

11 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—A State may apply to 

12 receive funds under this paragraph by submit13 ting an application including— 

14 ‘‘(i) a description of— 

15 ‘‘(I) the State program for or16 phaned well permanent plugging, re17 mediation, and restoration, including 

18 legal authorities, processes used to 

19 identify and prioritize orphaned wells, 

20 procurement mechanisms, and other 

21 program elements demonstrating the 

22 readiness of the State program to 

23 carry out the proposed activities; 

24 ‘‘(II) the activities to be carried 

25 out with the grant, including an idenVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2415.IH H2415

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1 tification of the estimated health, 

2 safety, habitat, and environmental 

3 benefits of permanent plugging, reme4 diating, or reclaiming the orphaned 

5 wells; and 

6 ‘‘(III) how the information re7 garding the State’s activities under 

8 this subsection will be made available 

9 on a public website; 

10 ‘‘(ii) an estimate of— 

11 ‘‘(I) the number of orphaned 

12 wells that will be permanently 

13 plugged, remediated, or reclaimed; 

14 ‘‘(II) the projected cost of perma15 nently plugging, remediating, or re16 claiming orphaned wells, adjacent 

17 lands, and access roads; 

18 ‘‘(III) the amount of that cost 

19 that will be offset by the forfeiture of 

20 financial assurance instruments, the 

21 estimated salvage of well-site equip22 ment, or other proceeds from the or23 phaned wells and adjacent lands; 

24 ‘‘(IV) the number of jobs that 

25 will be created or saved through the 


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1 activities to be funded under this sub2 section; and 

3 ‘‘(V) the amount of funds to be 

4 spent on administrative costs; 

5 ‘‘(iii) a certification that any financial 

6 assurance instruments, including bonds, 

7 available to cover permanent plugging, re8 mediation, or reclamation costs will be 

9 used by the State; and 

10 ‘‘(iv) the definitions and processes 

11 used by the State to formally declare a well 

12 orphaned or, if the State uses different ter13 minology, otherwise eligible for permanent 

14 plugging, remediation, and reclamation by 

15 the State, including the steps the State has 

16 taken to identify the well’s most recent op17 erator. 

18 ‘‘(C) REVIEW OF STATE DEFINITIONS AND

19 PROCESSES.—The Secretary may only dis20 tribute funds to a State under this paragraph 

21 if the Secretary determines that— 

22 ‘‘(i) such State has taken appropriate 

23 steps to protect taxpayers from unneces24 sarily paying for permanent plugging, re25 mediation, and reclamation costs; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the processes of such State for 

2 declaring a well eligible for permanent 

3 plugging by the State are reasonable; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) the definition provided by the 

5 State for the term ‘orphaned well’ (or an 

6 alternate term, if applicable), if such term 

7 differs from the definition given such term 

8 in subsection (h)(5)(A)(ii), is reasonable. 

9 ‘‘(D) 5 YEARS TO EXPEND FUNDS.—A 

10 State that receives funds under this paragraph 

11 shall reimburse the Secretary in an amount 

12 equal to the amount of any unobligated funds 

13 that remain 5 years after the date on which 

14 such State receives funds under this paragraph. 

15 ‘‘(E) CONSULTATION.—In making a deter16 mination under this paragraph regarding the 

17 eligibility of a State to receive funds, the Sec18 retary shall consult with the Administrator of 

19 the Environmental Protection Agency, the Sec20 retary of Energy, and the Interstate Oil and 

21 Gas Compact Commission. 

22 ‘‘(F) CONSIDERATION TIMELINE.—Not 

23 later than 60 days after receiving a completed 

24 application that meets the requirements of this 


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1 section from a State under this paragraph, the 

2 Secretary shall issue a grant to such State. 

3 ‘‘(4) DISCRETIONARY GRANTS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

5 ‘‘(i) REGULATORY IMPROVEMENT

6 GRANT.— 

7 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on 

8 the date that is 6 months after the 

9 date on which the first grant is issued 

10 under paragraph (2), the Secretary 

11 may provide funding in an amount 

12 not to exceed $20,000,000 per grant 

13 to a State if the State meets one of 

14 the following criteria: 

15 ‘‘(aa) The State has 

16 strengthened restrictions on 

17 methane emissions from oil and 

18 gas operations that result in a 

19 level of emissions not higher than 

20 the level that would be permitted 

21 if the final rule entitled ‘Oil and 

22 Natural Gas Sector: Emission 

23 Standards for New, Recon24 structed, and Modified Sources’ 

25 and published in the Federal 


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1 Register on June 3, 2016 (81 

2 Fed. Reg. 35824) were in effect. 

3 ‘‘(bb) The State has 

4 strengthened its plugging and 

5 abandonment rules to require 

6 that an operator of a well takes 

7 steps to isolate all oil-bearing or 

8 gas-bearing strata encountered in 

9 the well, protect underground or 

10 surface water suitable for irriga11 tion, farming, or other domestic 

12 purposes from the infiltration or 

13 addition of any detrimental sub14 stances, and to prevent subse15 quent damage to life, health, 

16 property, and other resources. 

17 ‘‘(cc) The State has made 

18 improvements to State programs 

19 designed to prevent future or20 phaned well burdens, including 

21 bonding reform or other financial 

22 assurance reform, alternative 

23 funding mechanisms for or24 phaned well programs, and re25 forms to well transfer and temVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2415.IH H2415

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1 porary abandonment programs in 

2 the 10 years preceding the date 

3 that the States applies for a 

4 grant under this paragraph. 

5 ‘‘(II) LIMITATION.—The Sec6 retary may only issue one grant per 

7 criterion per State under this clause. 

8 ‘‘(ii) MATCHING GRANT.— 

9 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on 

10 the date that is 6 months after the 

11 date on which the first grant is issued 

12 under paragraph (2), the Secretary 

13 may provide funding to a State in an 

14 amount equal to the difference be15 tween— 

16 ‘‘(aa) the amount of funds 

17 such State expended on average 

18 in fiscal years 2010 through 

19 2019 to permanently plug, reme20 diate, and reclaim orphaned wells 

21 and associated facilities; and 

22 ‘‘(bb) the amount of funds 

23 such State certifies to the Sec24 retary such State will expend for 

25 such purposes in the fiscal year 


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1 in which such State will receive 

2 such grant. 

3 ‘‘(II) ANNUAL GRANT.—The Sec4 retary may issue one grant per State 

5 per fiscal year under this clause. 

6 ‘‘(III) LIMITATION ON TOTAL

7 FUNDS PROVIDED TO A STATE.—The 

8 Secretary may not provide a total of 

9 more than $30,000,000 to a State 

10 under this clause during the period of 

11 fiscal years 2021 through 2031. 

12 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A State may apply 

14 to receive funds under this paragraph by 

15 submitting an application including— 

16 ‘‘(I) each of the elements re17 quired in an application under para18 graph (3)(B); 

19 ‘‘(II) a description of measures 

20 such State has taken to address or21 phaned wells, including by increasing 

22 State spending on well permanent 

23 plugging, remediation, and reclama24 tion and by improving regulation of 

25 oil and gas wells; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) a description of how such 

2 State will use such funds to— 

3 ‘‘(aa) lower unemployment 

4 in such State; and 

5 ‘‘(bb) improve economic con6 ditions in economically distressed 

7 areas of such State. 

8 ‘‘(ii) CONSULTATION.—In making a 

9 determination to issue a grant under this 

10 paragraph, the Secretary shall consult with 

11 the Administrator of the Environmental 

12 Protection Agency and the Secretary of 

13 Energy. 

14 ‘‘(iii) REIMBURSEMENT FOR FAILURE

15 TO MAINTAIN PROTECTIONS.—A State that 

16 receives funds under this paragraph shall 

17 reimburse the Secretary any funds received 

18 if, during the 10 year period beginning on 

19 the date of receipt of funds under this 

20 paragraph, such State enacts a statute or 

21 regulation that, if such statute or regula22 tion were in effect when the State sub23 mitted an application under this para24 graph, would have prevented such State 


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1 from being eligible to receive funds under 

2 subparagraph (A)(i)(I). 

3 ‘‘(iv) CONSIDERATION TIMELINE.— 

4 Not later than 60 days after receiving an 

5 application from an eligible State under 

6 this paragraph, the Secretary shall make a 

7 grant or reject such application. 

8 ‘‘(5) STATE REPORT.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State that re10 ceives funding under this subsection shall sub11 mit a report to the Secretary each year that 

12 provides— 

13 ‘‘(i) the number of orphaned wells 

14 that have been permanently plugged, reme15 diated, or reclaimed; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the cost of permanently plugging, 

17 remediating, or reclaiming orphaned wells, 

18 adjacent lands, and access roads; 

19 ‘‘(iii) the amount of that cost offset 

20 by the forfeiture of financial assurance in21 struments, the salvage of well-site equip22 ment, or other proceeds from the orphaned 

23 wells; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) an estimate of the number of 

2 jobs created or saved through the activities 

3 funded under this subsection; 

4 ‘‘(v) the funds spent on administrative 

5 costs; 

6 ‘‘(vi) a description of how the State is 

7 working to decrease the effects of orphaned 

8 wells on environmental justice commu9 nities; and 

10 ‘‘(vii) survey results from State efforts 

11 to identify undocumented orphaned wells. 

12 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC ACCESS.—The Secretary 

13 shall make available on a publicly accessible 

14 website each report submitted under subpara15 graph (A). 

16 ‘‘(c) TRIBAL ORPHANED WELL SITE PLUGGING, RE17 MEDIATION, AND RESTORATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es19 tablish a program in the Bureau of Indian Affairs 

20 to provide grants to Indian Tribes for the purposes 

21 described in paragraph (2). 

22 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—The purposes described in 

23 this paragraph are to— 

24 ‘‘(A) permanently plug, remediate, and re25 claim orphaned wells on Tribal land; 


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1 ‘‘(B) remediate soil and restore native spe2 cies habitat that has been degraded due to the 

3 presence of orphaned wells on Tribal land; 

4 ‘‘(C) remediate lands, including access 

5 roads, adjacent to orphaned wells and decom6 mission or remove pipelines, facilities, and in7 frastructure associated with the orphaned well 

8 on Tribal lands; 

9 ‘‘(D) provide an online public accounting 

10 of the cost of permanent plugging, remediation, 

11 and reclamation for each orphaned well site on 

12 Tribal land; 

13 ‘‘(E) identify and characterize undocu14 mented orphaned wells on Tribal land; and 

15 ‘‘(F) administer a Tribal program to carry 

16 out activities described in subparagraphs (A) 

17 through (E). 

18 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making a deter19 mination to issue a grant under this subsection, the 

20 Secretary shall take into account— 

21 ‘‘(A) the unemployment rate of the Indian 

22 Tribe on the date such Indian Tribe submits 

23 the application under paragraph (4); 

24 ‘‘(B) the number of documented orphaned 

25 wells on the land of such Indian Tribe; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the amount of oil and gas produced 

2 on the land of such Indian Tribe in 2019, as 

3 determined by the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION.—An Indian Tribe may 

5 apply to receive funds under this paragraph by sub6 mitting an application that includes— 

7 ‘‘(A) a description of— 

8 ‘‘(i) the Tribal program for orphaned 

9 well permanent plugging, remediation, and 

10 restoration, including legal authorities, 

11 processes used to identify and prioritize or12 phaned wells, procurement mechanisms, 

13 and other program elements demonstrating 

14 the readiness of the Tribal program to 

15 carry out the proposed activities; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the activities to be carried out 

17 with the grant, including an identification 

18 of the estimated health, safety, and habi19 tat, and environmental benefits of perma20 nently plugging, remediating, or reclaiming 

21 the orphaned wells, adjacent lands, and ac22 cess roads; and 

23 ‘‘(B) an estimate of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the number of orphaned wells 

2 that will be permanently plugged, remedi3 ated, or reclaimed; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) the projected costs of perma5 nently plugging, remediating, or reclaiming 

6 the orphaned wells and any adjacent lands 

7 or access roads. 

8 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION.—An Indian Tribe may not 

9 use more than 10 percent of the funds received 

10 under this subsection in a fiscal year for the pur11 poses described in paragraph (2)(F). 

12 ‘‘(6) CONSIDERATION TIMELINE.—The Sec13 retary shall issue or deny a grant under this sub14 section not later than 60 days after the date of re15 ceipt of the complete application under paragraph 

16 (4). 

17 ‘‘(7) 5 YEARS TO EXPEND FUNDS.—An Indian 

18 Tribe that receives funds under this subsection shall 

19 reimburse the Secretary in an amount equal to the 

20 amount of any unobligated funds that remain 5 

21 years after the date on which such Indian Tribe re22 ceives funds under this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(8) DEFERRAL OF PLUGGING AND REMEDI24 ATION.—An Indian Tribe with an orphaned well 

25 within such Indian Tribe’s jurisdiction may request 


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1 that the Secretary administer and carry out perma2 nent plugging, remediation, and reclamation work 

3 with respect to such orphaned well. For the purposes 

4 of subsection (a), any orphaned well with respect to 

5 which the Indian Tribe with jurisdiction has made 

6 such a request shall be treated as if such orphaned 

7 well is on land administered by a land management 

8 agency within the Department of the Interior. 

9 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of 

10 Energy, in cooperation with the Secretary and the Inter11 state Oil and Gas Compact Commission, shall provide 

12 technical assistance to Federal land management agencies 

13 and oil and gas producing States and Indian Tribes to 

14 ensure practical and economical remedies are used to ad15 dress environmental problems caused by orphaned wells 

16 on Federal, State, Tribal, or private land, including the 

17 sharing of best practices in the management of oil and 

18 gas well inventories to ensure the availability of funds to 

19 permanently plug, remediate, and restore oil and gas well 

20 sites when operations cease. 

21 ‘‘(e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

22 after the date of enactment of this section, and every year 

23 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees 

24 on Appropriations and Energy and Natural Resources of 

25 the Senate and to the Committees on Appropriations and 


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1 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a re2 port on the program established and grants awarded 

3 under this section, including— 

4 ‘‘(1) an updated inventory of— 

5 ‘‘(A) orphaned wells on Federal, Tribal, 

6 State, and private land; and 

7 ‘‘(B) wells at-risk of becoming orphaned on 

8 Federal, Tribal, State, and private land; 

9 ‘‘(2) to the maximum extent practical, an esti10 mate of— 

11 ‘‘(A) the amount of methane and other 

12 gasses emitted from orphaned wells; and 

13 ‘‘(B) the amount of emissions reduced as 

14 a result of permanently plugging and reclaiming 

15 orphaned wells; 

16 ‘‘(3) the number of jobs created and saved 

17 through the permanent plugging, remediation, and 

18 reclamation of orphaned wells; and 

19 ‘‘(4) the acreage of habitat restored using 

20 grants awarded to permanently plug, remediate, and 

21 reclaim orphaned wells and adjacent lands, including 

22 access roads, and a description of how such land is 

23 likely to be used in the future. 

24 ‘‘(f) IDLED WELL FEES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, not 

2 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

3 this section, issue regulations to require each oper4 ator of an idled well on Federal land to pay an an5 nual, nonrefundable fee for each such idled well in 

6 accordance with this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(2) AMOUNTS.—Except as provided in para8 graph (5), the amount of the fee shall be as follows: 

9 ‘‘(A) $500 for each well that has been con10 sidered an idled well for at least 1 year, but not 

11 more than 5 years. 

12 ‘‘(B) $1,500 for each well that has been 

13 considered an idled well for at least 5 years, but 

14 not more than 10 years. 

15 ‘‘(C) $3,500 for each well that has been 

16 considered an idled well for at least 10 years, 

17 but not more than 15 years. 

18 ‘‘(D) $7,500 for each well that has been 

19 considered an idled well for at least 15 years. 

20 ‘‘(3) DUE DATE.—An owner of an idled well 

21 that is required to pay a fee under this subsection 

22 shall submit to the Secretary such fee by not later 

23 than May 1 of each year. 

24 ‘‘(4) CIVIL PENALTY.—If the operator of a 

25 idled well fails to pay the full amount of a fee under 


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1 this subsection, the Secretary may assess a civil pen2 alty against the operator under section 109 of the 

3 Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 

4 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1719) as if such failure to pay 

5 were a violation under such section. 

6 ‘‘(5) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—The Sec7 retary shall, by regulation not less than once every 

8 4 years, adjust each fee under this subsection to ac9 count for inflation based on the Consumer Price 

10 Index for All Urban Consumers (as published by the 

11 Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of 

12 Labor). 

13 ‘‘(6) USE OF FEES.—The Secretary, acting 

14 through the Director of the Bureau of Land Man15 agement, shall use any fees collected under this sub16 section for the following purposes: 

17 ‘‘(A) 50 percent of such amounts shall be 

18 used for— 

19 ‘‘(i) inventorying and tracking or20 phaned wells on Federal lands; 

21 ‘‘(ii) permanently plugging orphaned 

22 wells on Federal lands; 

23 ‘‘(iii) remediating and reclaiming well 

24 pads and access roads associated with or25 phaned wells on Federal lands; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) remediating soil and restoring 

2 native species habitat that have been de3 graded due to the presence of orphaned 

4 wells on Federal land; and 

5 ‘‘(v) remediating lands, including ac6 cess roads, adjacent to orphaned wells and 

7 decommissioning or removing pipelines, fa8 cilities, and infrastructure associated with 

9 orphaned wells. 

10 ‘‘(B) 50 percent of such amounts shall be 

11 used to carry out part 3163 of title 43, Code 

12 of Federal Regulations (or any successor regu13 lation). 

14 ‘‘(g) SAVINGS CLAUSES AND PREVAILING WAGE RE15 QUIREMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) NO EXPANSION OF LIABILITY.—Nothing in 

17 this section establishes or expands the responsibility 

18 or liability of any entity with respect to permanently 

19 plugging a well or remediating or reclaiming a well 

20 site. 

21 ‘‘(2) PREVAILING WAGE.—Any entity carrying 

22 out a project authorized by this section shall be re23 quired to pay prevailing wages in accordance with 

24 subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United 


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1 States Code (commonly known as the Davis-Bacon 

2 Act). 

3 ‘‘(3) TRIBAL LAND.—Nothing in this section 

4 may be construed to relieve the Secretary of any ob5 ligation imposed by section 3 of the Act of May 11, 

6 1938 (25 U.S.C. 396c), or to absolve the United 

7 States from any responsibility to an Indian Tribe, 

8 including those which derive from the trust relation9 ship or from any treaties, statutes, Executive orders, 

10 or agreements between the United States and an In11 dian Tribe, to permanently plug, remediate, or re12 claim orphaned wells located on Tribal lands. 

13 ‘‘(4) OWNER OR OPERATOR NOT ABSOLVED.— 

14 Nothing in this section may be construed to absolve 

15 the owner or operator of an oil or gas well of poten16 tial liability for reimbursement of permanent plug17 ging and reclamation costs or adverse effects on the 

18 environment. 

19 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 ‘‘(1) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 

21 The term ‘environmental justice community’ means 

22 any community with significant representation of 

23 communities of color, low-income communities, or 

24 Tribal and indigenous communities, that experiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2415.IH H2415

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1 ences, or is at risk of experiencing higher or more 

2 adverse human health or environmental effects. 

3 ‘‘(2) IDLED WELL.—The term ‘idled well’— 

4 ‘‘(A) if the Secretary has not established a 

5 definition under subsection (a)(4)(B), means a 

6 well that has been non-operational for at least 

7 two consecutive years for which there is no an8 ticipated beneficial future use; or 

9 ‘‘(B) has the meaning given to such term 

10 by the Secretary under subsection (a)(4)(B). 

11 ‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 

12 has the meaning given to such term in section 4(e) 

13 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education As14 sistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)). 

15 ‘‘(4) OPERATOR.—The term ‘operator’ means, 

16 with respect to an oil or gas operation, any entity, 

17 including the lessee or operating rights owner, who 

18 has stated in writing to a relevant authority that 

19 such entity is responsible for such operation or a 

20 portion thereof. 

21 ‘‘(5) ORPHANED WELL.—The term ‘orphaned 

22 well’— 

23 ‘‘(A) with respect to Federal and Tribal 

24 land— 


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1 ‘‘(i) has the meaning given to such 

2 term by the Secretary under subsection 

3 (a)(3); or 

4 ‘‘(ii) if the Secretary has not defined 

5 the term under such subsection, means a 

6 well that is not being used for authorized 

7 purposes such as production, injection, or 

8 monitoring and for which either no oper9 ator can be found or the operator is unable 

10 to permanently plug the well and reme11 diate and reclaim the well site; and 

12 ‘‘(B) with respect to State or private 

13 land— 

14 ‘‘(i) has the meaning given to such 

15 term by such State if the Secretary deter16 mines under subsection (b)(3)(C)(iii) that 

17 such definition is reasonable; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) has the meaning given in sub19 paragraph (A). 

20 ‘‘(6) TRIBAL LAND.—The term ‘Tribal land’ 

21 means any land or interests in land owned by any 

22 Indian Tribe, title to which is held in trust by the 

23 United States, or is subject to a restriction against 

24 alienation under laws of the United States. 


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1 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2021, to 

3 remain available until September 30, 2031— 

4 ‘‘(1) to the Secretary— 

5 ‘‘(A) $400,000,000 to carry out the pro6 gram under subsection (a); 

7 ‘‘(B) $1,500,000,000— 

8 ‘‘(i) to provide grants under para9 graph (2) of subsection (b); and 

10 ‘‘(ii) to provide, beginning on the date 

11 that is 18 months after amounts are made 

12 available to carry out this section, grants 

13 under paragraph (4) of such subsection; 

14 ‘‘(C) $3,500,000,000 to provide grants 

15 under paragraph (3) of such subsection; 

16 ‘‘(D) $2,250,000,000 to provide grants 

17 under paragraph (4) of such subsection; and 

18 ‘‘(E) $300,000,000 to carry out subsection 

19 (c); 

20 ‘‘(2) to the Secretary of Energy, $48,000,000 

21 to conduct research and development activities in co22 operation with the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact 

23 Commission to assist the Federal land management 

24 agencies, States, and Indian Tribes in identifying 

25 and characterizing undocumented orphaned wells 


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1 and mitigating the environmental risks of undocu2 mented orphaned wells; and 

3 ‘‘(3) to the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact 

4 Commission, $2,000,000 to carry out this section.’’. 

5 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO MINERAL LEASING ACT. 

6 Section 17(g) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

7 226(g)) is amended by inserting ‘‘The Secretary concerned 

8 shall review the adequacy of each such bond, surety, or 

9 other financial arrangement anytime a lease issued under 

10 this section is transferred. Each such bond, surety, or 

11 other financial arrangement shall be considered inad12 equate if such bond, surety, or other financial arrange13 ment is for less than $150,000 in the case of an arrange14 ment for an individual surface-disturbing activity of each 

15 entity on an individual oil or gas lease in a State, or 

16 $500,000 in the case of an arrangement for all surface17 disturbing activities of each entity on all oil and gas leases 

18 in a State.’’ after ‘‘on the lease.’’. 

Æ 


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