IB 

Union Calendar No. 464 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2415 

[Report No. 117–645] 

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 

DECEMBER 15, 2022 

Additional sponsors: Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. COHEN, Ms. 

BARRAGA ́N, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. NORTON, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. ESPAILLAT, 

Mr. SOTO, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. 

WELCH, Mr. LEVIN of California, Ms. ROSS, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Ms. 

PORTER, Mr. POCAN, Mr. SIRES, Mr. JONES, Mr. YARMUTH, Ms. NEWMAN, Ms. DEAN, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. MCNERNEY, 

Mr. CARSON, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, and Mr. LEVIN

of Michigan 

DECEMBER 15, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 8, 2021] 


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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. 


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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Orphaned Well Cleanup 

5 and Jobs Act of 2021’’. 

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

7 AND RESTORATION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 349 of the Energy Policy 

9 Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 42 U.S.C. 15907) is 

10 amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 349. ORPHANED WELL SITE PLUGGING, REMEDI12 ATION, AND RESTORATION. 

13 ‘‘(a) FEDERAL PROGRAM.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in co15 operation with the Secretary of Agriculture and af16 fected Indian Tribes, shall establish a program not 

17 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

18 section to permanently plug orphaned wells and reme19 diate and reclaim orphaned wells located on land ad20 ministered by the land management agencies within 

21 the Department of the Interior and the Department of 

22 Agriculture. 

23 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—The program under para24 graph (1) shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) include a means of identifying, char2 acterizing, and inventorying orphaned wells on 

3 Federal lands and ranking orphaned wells for 

4 priority in permanent plugging, remediation, 

5 and reclamation, based on public health and 

6 safety, potential environmental harm, and other 

7 land use priorities; 

8 ‘‘(B) distribute funding according to the 

9 priorities identified under subparagraph (A) 

10 for— 

11 ‘‘(i) permanently plugging orphaned 

12 wells; 

13 ‘‘(ii) remediating and reclaiming well 

14 pads and access roads associated with or15 phaned wells; 

16 ‘‘(iii) remediating soil and restoring 

17 native species habitat that has been de18 graded due to the presence of orphaned 

19 wells; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) remediating lands, including ac21 cess roads, adjacent to orphaned wells and 

22 decommissioning or removing pipelines, fa23 cilities, and infrastructure associated with 

24 the orphaned well; 


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

2 costs of permanently plugging, remediating, and 

3 reclaiming each orphaned well; 

4 ‘‘(D) seek to determine the identities of po5 tentially responsible parties associated with the 

6 orphaned well, or their sureties or guarantors, to 

7 the extent such information can be ascertained, 

8 and make efforts to obtain reimbursement for ex9 penditures to the extent practicable; 

10 ‘‘(E) to the maximum extent possible, sup11 port research and development efforts aimed at 

12 investigating, measuring, and tracking emissions 

13 of methane and other gases associated with or14 phaned wells; 

15 ‘‘(F) measure and track contamination of 

16 groundwater or surface water associated with or17 phaned wells; and 

18 ‘‘(G) reduce the negative effects of orphaned 

19 wells on environmental justice communities. 

20 ‘‘(3) DEFINE ORPHANED WELL.—Not later than 

21 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, 

22 the Secretary shall issue a final rule defining the 

23 term ‘orphaned well’ as such term applies to Federal 

24 and Tribal land for the purposes of this section. 

25 ‘‘(4) IDLED WELLS.— 


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

2 through the Director of the Bureau of Land 

3 Management, shall annually review all idled 

4 wells on Federal lands and take such measures 

5 as such Director determines appropriate to re6 duce such Director’s idled well inventory. 

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

8 later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

9 of this section, the Secretary, acting through the 

10 Director of the Bureau of Land Management, 

11 shall establish a definition for the term ‘idled 

12 well’ for the purposes of this section. 

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

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

15 Secretary shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) work cooperatively with the Secretary 

17 of Agriculture and the States within which Fed18 eral land is located; and 

19 ‘‘(B) consult with affected Indian Tribes, 

20 the Secretary of Energy, and the Interstate Oil 

21 and Gas Compact Commission. 

22 ‘‘(b) STATE ORPHANED WELL SITE PLUGGING, REME23 DIATION, AND RESTORATION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall pro2 vide funding to States as described in this sec3 tion for any of the following purposes: 

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

5 and reclaim orphaned wells located on 

6 State- and privately-owned land. 

7 ‘‘(ii) To identify and characterize un8 documented orphaned wells on State and 

9 private lands. 

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

11 and private lands based on factors includ12 ing public health and safety, potential envi13 ronmental harm, and other land use prior14 ities. 

15 ‘‘(iv) To make information regarding 

16 the use of funds received under this sub17 section available on a public website. 

18 ‘‘(v) To measure and track emissions of 

19 methane and other gases associated with or20 phaned wells. 

21 ‘‘(vi) To measure and track contami22 nation of groundwater or surface water as23 sociated with orphaned wells. 

24 ‘‘(vii) To remediate soil and restore 

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1 graded due to the presence of orphaned 

2 wells. 

3 ‘‘(viii) To remediate lands, including 

4 access roads, adjacent to orphaned wells and 

5 decommission or remove pipelines, facilities, 

6 and infrastructure associated with the or7 phaned well. 

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

9 State determines necessary to reduce the 

10 negative effects of orphaned wells on envi11 ronmental justice communities. 

12 ‘‘(x) To administer a program to carry 

13 out activities described in clauses (i) 

14 through (ix). 

15 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Except for funds re16 ceived by a State under paragraph (2)(A)(ii), a 

17 State may not use more than 10 percent of the 

18 funds received under this section in any fiscal 

19 year for the purpose described in paragraph 

20 (1)(A)(x). 

21 ‘‘(2) INITIAL GRANTS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall dis23 tribute— 

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

25 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 documented 

8 orphaned well; 

9 ‘‘(IV) certifies to the Secretary 

10 that such State can use at least 90 per11 cent of the requested funding to issue 

12 new contracts, amend existing con13 tracts, or issue grants for permanent 

14 plugging, remediation, and reclama15 tion work within 180 days of receipt of 

16 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 on 

22 the date on which such State requests 

23 funding under subclause (II); and 

24 ‘‘(ii) not more than $5,000,000 to each 

25 State that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) requests funding under this 

2 clause; 

3 ‘‘(II) does not receive a grant 

4 under clause (i); and 

5 ‘‘(III) certifies to the Secretary 

6 that— 

7 ‘‘(aa) such State has a per8 manent plugging, remediation, 

9 and reclamation program for or10 phaned wells or the capacity to 

11 start such a program; or 

12 ‘‘(bb) such funds will be used 

13 to conduct the administrative 

14 work necessary to put together an 

15 application to receive funds under 

16 paragraph (3). 

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

18 disburse funds to a State under this subpara19 graph not later than 30 days after such State 

20 makes a certification to the Secretary that such 

21 State is eligible to receive such funds. 

22 ‘‘(C) 2 YEARS TO EXPEND FUNDS.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A State that re24 ceives funds under this paragraph shall re25 imburse the Secretary in an amount equal 


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1 to the amount of any unobligated funds that 

2 remain 2 years after the date on which such 

3 State receives funds under this paragraph. 

4 ‘‘(ii) USE OF REIMBURSED FUNDS.— 

5 The Secretary may use funds reimbursed 

6 under this subparagraph to carry out any 

7 activity under subsection (a)(2). 

8 ‘‘(D) REPORT.— 

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

10 months after the date on which a State re11 ceives funds under this paragraph, such 

12 State shall submit a report to the Secretary 

13 detailing how the State adhered to the cer14 tifications required by subparagraph (A). 

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

16 shall make available on a publicly accessible 

17 website each report submitted under clause 

18 (i). 

19 ‘‘(3) FORMULA GRANTS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) FORMULA.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

22 establish a formula for the distribution of 

23 funds under this paragraph to the States 

24 described in clause (ii). Such formula, with 


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1 respect to an applicant State, shall account 

2 for the following factors: 

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

4 gas industry between March 1, 2020, 

5 and the date of enactment of this sec6 tion. 

7 ‘‘(II) The number of documented 

8 orphaned wells and associated facilities 

9 and the projected cost to permanently 

10 plug and reclaim such wells. 

11 ‘‘(ii) NOTIFICATION.—A State is de12 scribed in this clause if, not later than 45 

13 days after the date of enactment of this sec14 tion, such State submits a notice to the Sec15 retary that such State intends to submit an 

16 application under subparagraph (B) and 

17 includes in such notification the informa18 tion described in subclauses (I) through (II) 

19 of clause (i) with respect to such State. 

20 ‘‘(iii) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary 

21 shall, not later than 30 days after the date 

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

23 website the amount that each State de24 scribed in clause (ii) is eligible to receive 


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1 under the formula established under clause 

2 (i). 

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

4 receive funds under this paragraph by submit5 ting an application including— 

6 ‘‘(i) a description of— 

7 ‘‘(I) the State program for or8 phaned well permanent plugging, re9 mediation, and restoration, including 

10 legal authorities, processes used to 

11 identify and prioritize orphaned wells, 

12 procurement mechanisms, and other 

13 program elements demonstrating the 

14 readiness of the State program to carry 

15 out the proposed activities; 

16 ‘‘(II) the activities to be carried 

17 out with the grant, including an iden18 tification of the estimated health, safe19 ty, habitat, and environmental benefits 

20 of permanent plugging, remediating, or 

21 reclaiming the orphaned wells; and 

22 ‘‘(III) how the information re23 garding the State’s activities under 

24 this subsection will be made available 

25 on a public website; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an estimate of— 

2 ‘‘(I) the number of orphaned wells 

3 that will be permanently plugged, re4 mediated, or reclaimed; 

5 ‘‘(II) the projected cost of perma6 nently plugging, remediating, or re7 claiming orphaned wells, adjacent 

8 lands, and access roads; 

9 ‘‘(III) the amount of that cost that 

10 will be offset by the forfeiture of finan11 cial assurance instruments, the esti12 mated salvage of well-site equipment, 

13 or other proceeds from the orphaned 

14 wells and adjacent lands; 

15 ‘‘(IV) the number of jobs that will 

16 be created or saved through the activi17 ties to be funded under this subsection; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(V) the amount of funds to be 

20 spent on administrative costs; 

21 ‘‘(iii) a certification that any financial 

22 assurance instruments, including bonds, 

23 available to cover permanent plugging, re24 mediation, or reclamation costs will be used 

25 by the State; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) the definitions and processes used 

2 by the State to formally declare a well or3 phaned or, if the State uses different termi4 nology, otherwise eligible for permanent 

5 plugging, remediation, and reclamation by 

6 the State, including the steps the State has 

7 taken to identify the well’s most recent oper8 ator. 

9 ‘‘(C) REVIEW OF STATE DEFINITIONS AND

10 PROCESSES.—The Secretary may only distribute 

11 funds to a State under this paragraph if the Sec12 retary determines that— 

13 ‘‘(i) such State has taken appropriate 

14 steps to protect taxpayers from unneces15 sarily paying for permanent plugging, re16 mediation, and reclamation costs; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the processes of such State for de18 claring a well eligible for permanent plug19 ging by the State are reasonable; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) the definition provided by the 

21 State for the term ‘orphaned well’ (or an al22 ternate term, if applicable), if such term 

23 differs from the definition given such term 

24 in subsection (i)(5)(A)(ii), is reasonable. 


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1 ‘‘(D) 5 YEARS TO EXPEND FUNDS.—A State 

2 that receives funds under this paragraph shall 

3 reimburse the Secretary in an amount equal to 

4 the amount of any unobligated funds that re5 main 5 years after the date on which such State 

6 receives funds under this paragraph. 

7 ‘‘(E) CONSULTATION.—In making a deter8 mination under this paragraph regarding the 

9 eligibility of a State to receive funds, the Sec10 retary shall consult with the Administrator of 

11 the Environmental Protection Agency, the Sec12 retary of Energy, and the Interstate Oil and Gas 

13 Compact Commission. 

14 ‘‘(F) CONSIDERATION TIMELINE.—Not later 

15 than 60 days after receiving a completed appli16 cation that meets the requirements of this section 

17 from a State under this paragraph, the Sec18 retary shall issue a grant to such State. 

19 ‘‘(4) DISCRETIONARY GRANTS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

21 ‘‘(i) REGULATORY IMPROVEMENT

22 GRANT.— 

23 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on 

24 the date that is 6 months after the date 

25 on which the first grant is issued 


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1 under paragraph (2), the Secretary 

2 may provide funding in an amount 

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

4 a State if the State meets one of the 

5 following criteria: 

6 ‘‘(aa) The State— 

7 ‘‘(AA) requires, or will 

8 require by the date that is 

9 not later than five years after 

10 the date of enactment of the 

11 Orphaned Well Cleanup and 

12 Jobs Act of 2021, the oper13 ator of each well subject to 

14 regulation by the State to 

15 capture (which such term 

16 means the physical contain17 ment of gas for transpor18 tation to market or produc19 tive use, including reinjec20 tion and other on-site uses) 

21 at least 98 percent of all gas 

22 produced each year from 

23 each such well; and 

24 ‘‘(BB) prohibits, or will 

25 prohibit by the date that is 


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1 not later than five years after 

2 the date of enactment of the 

3 Orphaned Well Cleanup and 

4 Jobs Act of 2021, venting 

5 and flaring of gas produced 

6 from each such well, except 

7 in the case of emergencies or 

8 equipment failures as defined 

9 under the applicable law of 

10 such State. 

11 ‘‘(bb) During the period of 10 

12 years that precedes the date on 

13 which the State applies for a 

14 grant under this paragraph, the 

15 State strengthened its plugging 

16 standards and procedures to en17 sure that wells located in the 

18 State are plugged in an effective 

19 manner that protects groundwater 

20 and other natural resources, pub21 lic health and safety, and the en22 vironment. 

23 ‘‘(cc) The State has made im24 provements to State programs de25 signed to prevent future orphaned 


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1 well burdens, such as bonding re2 form or other financial assurance 

3 reform, alternative funding mech4 anisms for orphaned well pro5 grams, and reforms to well trans6 fer and temporary abandonment 

7 programs in the 10 years pre8 ceding the date that the States ap9 plies for a grant under this para10 graph. 

11 ‘‘(II) LIMITATION.—The Secretary 

12 may only issue one grant per criterion 

13 per State under this clause. 

14 ‘‘(ii) MATCHING GRANT.— 

15 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on 

16 the date that is 6 months after the date 

17 on which the first grant is issued 

18 under paragraph (2), the Secretary 

19 may provide funding to a State in an 

20 amount equal to the difference be21 tween— 

22 ‘‘(aa) the amount of funds 

23 such State expended on average in 

24 fiscal years 2010 through 2019 to 

25 permanently plug, remediate, and 


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1 reclaim orphaned wells and asso2 ciated facilities; and 

3 ‘‘(bb) the amount of funds 

4 such State certifies to the Sec5 retary such State will expend for 

6 such purposes in the fiscal year in 

7 which such State will receive such 

8 grant. 

9 ‘‘(II) ANNUAL GRANT.—The Sec10 retary may issue one grant per State 

11 per fiscal year under this clause. 

12 ‘‘(III) LIMITATION ON TOTAL

13 FUNDS PROVIDED TO A STATE.—The 

14 Secretary may not provide a total of 

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

16 under this clause during the period of 

17 fiscal years 2021 through 2031. 

18 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.— 

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

20 to receive funds under this paragraph by 

21 submitting an application including— 

22 ‘‘(I) each of the elements required 

23 in an application under paragraph 

24 (3)(B); 


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1 ‘‘(II) a description of measures 

2 such State has taken to address or3 phaned wells, including by increasing 

4 State spending on well permanent 

5 plugging, remediation, and reclama6 tion and by improving regulation of 

7 oil and gas wells; and 

8 ‘‘(III) a description of how such 

9 State will use such funds to— 

10 ‘‘(aa) lower unemployment 

11 in such State; and 

12 ‘‘(bb) improve economic con13 ditions in economically distressed 

14 areas of such State. 

15 ‘‘(ii) CONSULTATION.—In making a 

16 determination to issue a grant under this 

17 paragraph, the Secretary shall consult with 

18 the Administrator of the Environmental 

19 Protection Agency and the Secretary of En20 ergy. 

21 ‘‘(iii) REIMBURSEMENT FOR FAILURE

22 TO MAINTAIN PROTECTIONS.—A State that 

23 receives funds under this paragraph shall 

24 reimburse the Secretary any funds received 

25 if, during the 10 year period beginning on 


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1 the date of receipt of funds under this para2 graph, such State enacts a statute or regula3 tion that, if such statute or regulation were 

4 in effect when the State submitted an appli5 cation under this paragraph, would have 

6 prevented such State from being eligible to 

7 receive funds under subparagraph (A)(i)(I). 

8 ‘‘(iv) CONSIDERATION TIMELINE.—Not 

9 later than 60 days after receiving an appli10 cation from an eligible State under this 

11 paragraph, the Secretary shall make a 

12 grant or reject such application. 

13 ‘‘(5) STATE REPORT.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State that re15 ceives funding under this subsection shall submit 

16 a report to the Secretary each year that pro17 vides— 

18 ‘‘(i) the number of orphaned wells that 

19 have been permanently plugged, remediated, 

20 or reclaimed; 

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

22 remediating, or reclaiming orphaned wells, 

23 adjacent lands, and access roads; 

24 ‘‘(iii) the amount of that cost offset by 

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1 ments, the salvage of well-site equipment, or 

2 other proceeds from the orphaned wells; 

3 ‘‘(iv) an estimate of the number of jobs 

4 created or saved through the activities fund5 ed under this subsection; 

6 ‘‘(v) the funds spent on administrative 

7 costs; 

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

9 working to decrease the effects of orphaned 

10 wells on environmental justice communities; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(vii) survey results from State efforts 

13 to identify undocumented orphaned wells. 

14 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC ACCESS.—The Secretary shall 

15 make available on a publicly accessible website 

16 each report submitted under subparagraph (A). 

17 ‘‘(c) TRIBAL ORPHANED WELL SITE PLUGGING, RE18 MEDIATION, AND RESTORATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es20 tablish a program in the Bureau of Indian Affairs to 

21 provide grants to Indian Tribes for the purposes de22 scribed in paragraph (2). 

23 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—The purposes described in this 

24 paragraph are to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) permanently plug, remediate, and re2 claim orphaned wells on Tribal land; 

3 ‘‘(B) remediate soil and restore native spe4 cies habitat that has been degraded due to the 

5 presence of orphaned wells on Tribal land; 

6 ‘‘(C) remediate lands, including access 

7 roads, adjacent to orphaned wells and decommis8 sion or remove pipelines, facilities, and infra9 structure associated with the orphaned well on 

10 Tribal lands; 

11 ‘‘(D) provide an online public accounting of 

12 the cost of permanent plugging, remediation, and 

13 reclamation for each orphaned well site on Trib14 al land, excluding confidential or sensitive Trib15 al trust or business information (as determined 

16 by the Secretary); 

17 ‘‘(E) identify and characterize undocu18 mented orphaned wells on Tribal land; and 

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

20 out activities described in subparagraphs (A) 

21 through (E). 

22 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making a deter23 mination to issue a grant under this subsection, the 

24 Secretary shall take into account the number of docu25 mented orphaned wells on the land of the Indian 


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1 Tribe and the projected cost to permanently plug and 

2 reclaim such wells. 

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

4 apply to receive funds under this paragraph by sub5 mitting an application that includes— 

6 ‘‘(A) a description of— 

7 ‘‘(i) the Tribal program for orphaned 

8 well permanent plugging, remediation, and 

9 restoration, including legal authorities, 

10 processes used to identify and prioritize or11 phaned wells, procurement mechanisms, and 

12 other program elements demonstrating the 

13 readiness of the Tribal program to carry 

14 out the proposed activities; and 

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

16 with the grant, including an identification 

17 of the estimated health, safety, and habitat, 

18 and environmental benefits of permanently 

19 plugging, remediating, or reclaiming the or20 phaned wells, adjacent lands, and access 

21 roads; and 

22 ‘‘(B) an estimate of— 

23 ‘‘(i) the number of orphaned wells that 

24 will be permanently plugged, remediated, or 

25 reclaimed; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the projected costs of permanently 

2 plugging, remediating, or reclaiming the or3 phaned wells and any adjacent lands or ac4 cess roads. 

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

6 use more than 15 percent of the funds received under 

7 this subsection in a fiscal year for the purposes de8 scribed in paragraph (2)(F). 

9 ‘‘(6) CONSIDERATION TIMELINE.—The Secretary 

10 shall issue or deny a grant under this subsection not 

11 later than 60 days after the date of receipt of the com12 plete application under paragraph (4). 

13 ‘‘(7) 8 YEARS TO EXPEND FUNDS.—An Indian 

14 Tribe that receives funds under this subsection shall 

15 reimburse the Secretary in an amount equal to the 

16 amount of any unobligated funds that remain 8 years 

17 after the date on which such Indian Tribe receives 

18 funds under this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(8) DEFERRAL OF PLUGGING AND REMEDI20 ATION.—An Indian Tribe with an orphaned well 

21 within such Indian Tribe’s jurisdiction may request 

22 that the Secretary administer and carry out perma23 nent plugging, remediation, and reclamation work 

24 with respect to such orphaned well. For the purposes 

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


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1 which the Indian Tribe with jurisdiction has made 

2 such a request shall be treated as if such orphaned 

3 well is on land administered by a land management 

4 agency within the Department of the Interior. 

5 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of En6 ergy, in cooperation with the Secretary and the Interstate 

7 Oil and Gas Compact Commission, shall provide technical 

8 assistance to Federal land management agencies and oil 

9 and gas producing States and Indian Tribes to ensure prac10 tical and economical remedies are used to address environ11 mental problems caused by orphaned wells on Federal, 

12 State, Tribal, or private land, including the sharing of best 

13 practices in the management of oil and gas well inventories 

14 to ensure the availability of funds to permanently plug, re15 mediate, and restore oil and gas well sites when operations 

16 cease. 

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

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

19 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 

20 Appropriations and Energy and Natural Resources of the 

21 Senate and to the Committees on Appropriations and Nat22 ural Resources of the House of Representatives a report on 

23 the program established and grants awarded under this sec24 tion, including— 

25 ‘‘(1) an updated inventory of— 


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

2 State, and private land; and 

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

4 Federal, Tribal, State, and private land; 

5 ‘‘(2) to the maximum extent practical, an esti6 mate of— 

7 ‘‘(A) the amount of methane and other gas8 ses emitted from orphaned wells; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the amount of emissions reduced as a 

10 result of permanently plugging and reclaiming 

11 orphaned wells; 

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

13 through the permanent plugging, remediation, and 

14 reclamation of orphaned wells; and 

15 ‘‘(4) the acreage of habitat restored using grants 

16 awarded to permanently plug, remediate, and reclaim 

17 orphaned wells and adjacent lands, including access 

18 roads, and a description of how such land is likely to 

19 be used in the future. 

20 ‘‘(f) IDLED WELL FEES.— 

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

22 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

23 section, issue regulations to require each operator of 

24 an idled well on Federal land to pay an annual, nonVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Dec 15, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2415.RH H2415

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1 refundable fee for each such idled well in accordance 

2 with this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(2) AMOUNTS.—Except as provided in para4 graph (5), the amount of the fee shall be as follows: 

5 ‘‘(A) $500 for each well that has been con6 sidered an idled well for at least 1 year, but not 

7 more than 5 years. 

8 ‘‘(B) $1,500 for each well that has been con9 sidered an idled well for at least 5 years, but not 

10 more than 10 years. 

11 ‘‘(C) $3,500 for each well that has been con12 sidered an idled well for at least 10 years, but 

13 not more than 15 years. 

14 ‘‘(D) $7,500 for each well that has been con15 sidered an idled well for at least 15 years. 

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

17 is required to pay a fee under this subsection shall 

18 submit to the Secretary such fee by not later than 

19 May 1 of each year. 

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

21 well fails to pay the full amount of a fee under this 

22 subsection, the Secretary may assess a civil penalty 

23 against the operator under section 109 of the Federal 

24 Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 


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1 U.S.C. 1719) as if such failure to pay were a viola2 tion under such section. 

3 ‘‘(5) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—The Sec4 retary shall, by regulation not less than once every 4 

5 years, adjust each fee under this subsection to account 

6 for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index for 

7 All Urban Consumers (as published by the Bureau of 

8 Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor). 

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

10 through the Director of the Bureau of Land Manage11 ment, shall use any fees collected under this subsection 

12 for the following purposes: 

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

14 used for— 

15 ‘‘(i) inventorying and tracking or16 phaned wells on Federal lands; 

17 ‘‘(ii) permanently plugging orphaned 

18 wells on Federal lands; 

19 ‘‘(iii) remediating and reclaiming well 

20 pads and access roads associated with or21 phaned wells on Federal lands; 

22 ‘‘(iv) remediating soil and restoring 

23 native species habitat that have been de24 graded due to the presence of orphaned wells 

25 on Federal land; and 


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1 ‘‘(v) remediating lands, including ac2 cess roads, adjacent to orphaned wells and 

3 decommissioning or removing pipelines, fa4 cilities, and infrastructure associated with 

5 orphaned wells. 

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

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

8 Federal Regulations (or any successor regula9 tion). 

10 ‘‘(g) SAVINGS CLAUSES AND PREVAILING WAGE RE11 QUIREMENTS.— 

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

13 this section establishes or expands the responsibility 

14 or liability of any entity with respect to permanently 

15 plugging a well or remediating or reclaiming a well 

16 site. 

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

18 out a project authorized by this section shall be re19 quired to pay prevailing wages in accordance with 

20 subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States 

21 Code (commonly known as the Davis-Bacon Act). 

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

23 be construed to relieve the Secretary of any obligation 

24 imposed by section 3 of the Act of May 11, 1938 (25 

25 U.S.C. 396c), or to absolve the United States from 


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1 any responsibility to an Indian Tribe, including 

2 those which derive from the trust relationship or from 

3 any treaties, statutes, Executive orders, or agreements 

4 between the United States and an Indian Tribe, to 

5 permanently plug, remediate, or reclaim orphaned 

6 wells located on Tribal lands. 

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

8 Nothing in this section may be construed to absolve 

9 the owner or operator of an oil or gas well of poten10 tial liability for reimbursement of permanent plug11 ging and reclamation costs or adverse effects on the 

12 environment. 

13 ‘‘(h) AMERICAN IRON, STEEL, AND MANUFACTURED

14 PRODUCTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

16 ‘‘(A) IRON OR STEEL MANUFACTURED

17 PRODUCT.—The term ‘iron or steel manufactured 

18 product’ includes any construction material or 

19 end product (as those terms are defined in sub20 part 25.003 of the Federal Acquisition Regula21 tion) that does not otherwise qualify as an iron 

22 or steel product, including— 

23 ‘‘(i) an electrical component; 

24 ‘‘(ii) a non-ferrous building material, 

25 including— 


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1 ‘‘(I) aluminum and 

2 polyvinylchloride; 

3 ‘‘(II) glass; 

4 ‘‘(III) fiber optics; 

5 ‘‘(IV) plastic; 

6 ‘‘(V) wood; 

7 ‘‘(VI) masonry; 

8 ‘‘(VII) rubber; 

9 ‘‘(VIII) manufactured stone; and 

10 ‘‘(IX) any other non-ferrous met11 als; and 

12 ‘‘(iii) an unmanufactured construction 

13 material. 

14 ‘‘(B) PRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘produced 

16 in the United States’— 

17 ‘‘(I) with respect to an iron or 

18 steel product or an iron or steel manu19 factured product, means that all man20 ufacturing processes for, and materials 

21 and components of, the iron or steel 

22 product or iron or steel manufactured 

23 product, from the initial melting stage 

24 through the application of coatings, oc25 curred in the United States; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) with respect to an iron or 

2 steel manufactured product, means 

3 that— 

4 ‘‘(aa) the iron or steel manu5 factured product was manufac6 tured in the United States; and 

7 ‘‘(bb) the cost of the compo8 nents of the iron or steel manufac9 tured product that were mined, 

10 produced, or manufactured in the 

11 United States is greater than 60 

12 percent of the total cost of the 

13 components of the iron or steel 

14 manufactured product. 

15 ‘‘(ii) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘pro16 duced in the United States’, with respect to 

17 an iron or steel product or iron or steel 

18 manufactured product, does not include an 

19 iron or steel product or an iron or steel 

20 manufactured product the materials and 

21 components of which were manufactured— 

22 ‘‘(I) abroad from semi-finished 

23 steel or iron from the United States; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) in the United States from 

2 semi-finished steel or iron of foreign 

3 origin. 

4 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—Funds made available 

5 under this section may not be used for an orphaned 

6 well plugging or remediation project unless all of the 

7 iron and steel products and steel manufactured prod8 ucts used in the project are produced in the United 

9 States. 

10 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On request of the re12 cipient of a grant under this section, the Sec13 retary may grant for the project of the recipient 

14 of the grant a waiver of the requirement de15 scribed in paragraph (2) if the Secretary finds 

16 that— 

17 ‘‘(i) the application of paragraph (2) 

18 would be inconsistent with the public inter19 est; 

20 ‘‘(ii) iron or steel products or iron or 

21 steel manufactured products are not pro22 duced in the United States— 

23 ‘‘(I) in sufficient and reasonably 

24 available quantities; or 

25 ‘‘(II) of a satisfactory quality; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the inclusion of iron or steel 

2 products or iron or steel manufactured 

3 products in the United States would in4 crease the cost of the overall project by 

5 greater than 25 percent. 

6 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC NOTICE.—On receipt of a re7 quest for a waiver under subparagraph (A), the 

8 Secretary shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) make available to the public, in10 cluding by electronic means, including on 

11 the official public website of the Depart12 ment, on an informal basis, a copy of the 

13 request and all information available to the 

14 Secretary relating to the request; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) provide for informal public input 

16 on the request for a period of not fewer than 

17 15 days before making with respect to the 

18 request the finding described in subpara19 graph (A). 

20 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 

22 The term ‘environmental justice community’ means 

23 any community with significant representation of 

24 communities of color, low-income communities, or 

25 Tribal and indigenous communities, that experiences, 


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1 or is at risk of experiencing higher or more adverse 

2 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 by 

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

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

12 means the governing body of any Indian or Alaska 

13 Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, commu14 nity, component band, or component reservation indi15 vidually identified (including parenthetically) in the 

16 most recent list published pursuant to section 104 of 

17 the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 

18 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 

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

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

21 including the lessee or operating rights owner, who 

22 has stated in writing to a relevant authority that 

23 such entity is responsible for such operation or a por24 tion thereof. 


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

2 well’— 

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

4 land— 

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

6 term by the Secretary under subsection 

7 (a)(3); or 

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

9 the term under such subsection, means a 

10 well that is not being used for authorized 

11 purposes such as production, injection, or 

12 monitoring and for which either no operator 

13 can be found or the operator is unable to 

14 permanently plug the well and remediate 

15 and reclaim the well site; and 

16 ‘‘(B) with respect to State or private land— 

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

18 term by such State if the Secretary deter19 mines under subsection (b)(3)(C)(iii) that 

20 such definition is reasonable; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) has the meaning given in sub22 paragraph (A). 

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

24 means any land or minerals, or interests in land or 

25 minerals, owned by any Indian Tribe, the title to 


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1 which is held in trust by the United States, or is sub2 ject to a restriction against alienation under the laws 

3 of the United States. 

4 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

5 authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2021, to re6 main available until September 30, 2031— 

7 ‘‘(1) to the Secretary— 

8 ‘‘(A) $400,000,000 to carry out the program 

9 under subsection (a); 

10 ‘‘(B) $1,500,000,000— 

11 ‘‘(i) to provide grants under paragraph 

12 (2) of subsection (b); and 

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

14 that is 18 months after amounts are made 

15 available to carry out this section, grants 

16 under paragraph (4) of such subsection; 

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

18 under paragraph (3) of such subsection; 

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

20 under paragraph (4) of such subsection; and 

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

22 (c); 

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

24 conduct research and development activities in co25 operation with the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact 


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1 Commission to assist the Federal land management 

2 agencies, States, and Indian Tribes in identifying 

3 and characterizing undocumented orphaned wells and 

4 mitigating the environmental risks of undocumented 

5 orphaned wells; and 

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

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

8 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 1(b) of the En9 ergy Policy Act of 2005 is amended in the table of contents 

10 by amending the item relating to section 349 to read as 

11 follows: 

‘‘Sec. 349. Orphaned well site plugging, remediation, and restoration.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO MINERAL LEASING ACT. 

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

14 226(g)) is amended by inserting ‘‘The Secretary concerned 

15 shall review the adequacy of each such bond, surety, or other 

16 financial arrangement anytime a lease issued under this 

17 section is transferred. Each such bond, surety, or other fi18 nancial arrangement shall be considered inadequate if such 

19 bond, surety, or other financial arrangement is for less than 

20 $150,000 in the case of an arrangement for an individual 

21 surface-disturbing activity of each entity on an individual 

22 oil or gas lease in a State, or $500,000 in the case of an 

23 arrangement for all surface-disturbing activities of each en24 tity on all oil and gas leases in a State.’’ after ‘‘on the 

25 lease.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 464 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2415 

[Report No. 117–645] 

A BILL 

To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require 

lands, and for other purposes. reclaim orphaned wells and the surrounding ernments to permanently plug, remediate, and and to provide funds to States and Tribal Govclaim orphaned wells and the surrounding lands gram to permanently plug, remediate, and rethe Secretary of the Interior to establish a proDECEMBER 15, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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