I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8332 

To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to reauthorize a program to 

address orphaned, abandoned, or idled wells on Federal land, to establish 

a program to provide grants to States and Tribes to address orphaned 

wells, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 

Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania (for himself and Mr. RESCHENTHALER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 

Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to reauthorize 

a program to address orphaned, abandoned, or idled 

wells on Federal land, to establish a program to provide 

grants to States and Tribes to address orphaned wells, 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Plugging Orphan Wells 

5 and Environmental Restoration Act of 2020’’ or the 

6 ‘‘POWER Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FEDERAL LANDS. 

2 Section 349(h)(1) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

3 (42 U.S.C. 15907(h)(1)) is amended by striking 

4 ‘‘$25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘$50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 

6 through 2025’’. 

7 SEC. 3. STATE AND TRIBAL LANDS. 

8 (a) STATE AND TRIBAL ORPHANED WELLS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

11 of the Interior shall establish a program to provide 

12 grants to States and Indian Tribes to remediate, re13 claim, and close orphaned oil and gas wells located 

14 on State, Tribal, or private lands. 

15 (2) ACTIVITIES.—Funds distributed under this 

16 subsection may be used by States and Indian Tribes 

17 for— 

18 (A) reclaiming, remediating, and closing 

19 orphaned wells; 

20 (B) reclaiming and remediating well pads 

21 and access roads associated with orphaned 

22 wells; 

23 (C) restoring native species habitat that 

24 has been degraded due to the presence of or25 phaned wells; 


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1 (D) seeking to determine the identities of 

2 potentially responsible parties associated with 

3 the orphaned well sites, or their sureties or 

4 guarantors, to the extent such information can 

5 be ascertained, and make efforts to obtain reim6 bursement for expenditures to the extent prac7 ticable; 

8 (E) identification and characterization of 

9 undocumented orphaned wells on State, Tribal, 

10 and private lands; 

11 (F) ranking orphaned or abandoned well 

12 sites based on factors such as public health and 

13 safety, potential environmental harm, and other 

14 land use priorities; 

15 (G) administration of a State or Tribal or16 phaned well closure program, provided that no 

17 more than 10 percent of the funds received by 

18 a State or Indian Tribe under this subsection 

19 may be used for this purpose; and 

20 (H) making information regarding the use 

21 of funds under this subsection available to the 

22 public. 

23 (3) PRIORITY.—In providing grants under this 

24 subsection, the Secretary shall give priority to States 

25 and Indian Tribes that have an established State or 


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1 Tribal program for the remediation, reclamation, or 

2 closure of abandoned, idled, or orphaned oil and gas 

3 wells. 

4 (4) APPLICATION.—States and Indian Tribes 

5 shall be eligible for grants under this subsection 

6 upon application to the Secretary of the Interior. 

7 Such application shall include— 

8 (A) a prioritized list of the wells, well sites, 

9 and affected areas that will be remediated, re10 claimed, or closed; 

11 (B) a description of the activities to be car12 ried out with the grant, including an identifica13 tion of the estimated health, safety, habitat, 

14 and environmental benefits of remediating, re15 claiming, or closing each well, well site, or af16 fected area; 

17 (C) an estimate of the cost of each pro18 posed project; 

19 (D) an estimate of the number of jobs that 

20 will be created or saved through the projects to 

21 be funded under this subsection; 

22 (E) an estimate of the funds to be spent 

23 on administrative costs; and 

24 (F) a description of how the information 

25 regarding the State’s or Indian Tribe’s activiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Oct 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8332.IH H8332

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1 ties under this subsection will be made available 

2 to the public. 

3 (5) ALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall, in con4 sultation with States, affected Indian Tribes, and 

5 the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, de6 velop a formula for the amount of grant funding 

7 each State or Indian Tribe is eligible for under this 

8 subsection, taking into account— 

9 (A) the number of documented orphaned 

10 wells within the State or on each Indian Tribe’s 

11 lands; 

12 (B) the amount of oil and gas activity 

13 within the State or on Tribal lands in the pre14 vious 10 years; and 

15 (C) the number of jobs lost in the oil and 

16 gas sector since March 1, 2020. 

17 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy, in 

19 cooperation with the Secretary, shall establish a pro20 gram to provide technical assistance to oil and gas 

21 producing States and Indian Tribes to ensure prac22 tical and economical remedies for environmental 

23 problems caused by orphaned or abandoned oil and 

24 gas well sites on State, Tribal, or private land. 


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1 (2) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of Energy 

2 shall work with the States, through the Interstate 

3 Oil and Gas Compact Commission, to assist the 

4 States in quantifying and mitigating environmental 

5 risks of onshore orphaned or abandoned oil or gas 

6 wells on State, Tribal, and private land. 

7 (3) ACTIVITIES.—The program under para8 graph (1) shall include— 

9 (A) mechanisms to facilitate identification, 

10 if feasible, of the persons currently providing a 

11 bond or other form of financial assurance re12 quired under State or Federal law for an oil or 

13 gas well that is orphaned or abandoned; 

14 (B) criteria for ranking orphaned or aban15 doned well sites based on factors such as public 

16 health and safety, potential environmental 

17 harm, and other land use priorities; 

18 (C) information and training programs on 

19 best practices for remediation of different types 

20 of sites; and 

21 (D) funding of State mitigation efforts on 

22 a cost-shared basis. 

23 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

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

25 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 


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1 on the programs established under this section, including 

2 the number of jobs created and the number of orphaned 

3 wells reclaimed. 

4 (d) LIABILITY PROTECTION.—A person who provides 

5 equipment, materials, or services to plug, or attempt to 

6 plug, an orphaned well pursuant to a grant awarded to 

7 a State or Indian Tribe under this Act shall be immune 

8 from civil liability in any legal proceeding brought to en9 force an environmental law or otherwise impose liability 

10 for such conduct. 

11 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

13 well’’ means any well not in operation for which 

14 there is no responsible party known to the Secretary 

15 to reclaim and remediate or close the well site. 

16 (2) RESPONSIBLE PARTY.—The term ‘‘respon17 sible party’’ has the meaning given to it by the rel18 evant State, or if the relevant state does not provide 

19 a definition, means any person, association, corpora20 tion, subsidiary, or affiliate that directly or indi21 rectly, controls, manages, directs, or undertakes the 

22 activities with respect to an oil and gas lease or any 

23 person or entity controlled by, or under common 

24 control with, such person or entity. 


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1 (f) APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be 

2 appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior 

3 $400,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025 

4 to carry out this section. 

Æ 


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