I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 611 
To provide for marginal well production preservation and enhancement. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 21, 2009 
Mr. BOREN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and 
Commerce and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be sub-
sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 
such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide for marginal well production preservation and 
enhancement. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Marginal Well Produc-
tion Preservation and Enhancement Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. TAX TREATMENT FOR PROLONGED MARGINAL PRO-
DUCTION. 
(a) INCREASE IN PERCENTAGE DEPLETION FOR OIL 
AND NATURAL GAS PRODUCED FROM MARGINAL PROP-
ERTIES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Paragraph (6) of section 
613A(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (re-
lating to oil and natural gas produced from marginal 
properties) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(6) OIL AND NATURAL GAS PRODUCED FROM 
MARGINAL PROPERTIES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subsection (d)— 
‘‘(i) the allowance for depletion under 
section 611 shall be computed in accord-
ance with section 613 with respect to the 
taxpayer’s marginal production of domestic 
crude oil and domestic natural gas, and 
‘‘(ii) 27.5 percent shall be deemed to 
be specified in subsection (b) of section 
613 for purposes of subsection (a) of that 
section. 
‘‘(B) COORDINATION
WITH
OTHER
PRO-
DUCTION
OF
DOMESTIC
OIL
AND
NATURAL 
GAS.—For purposes of this subsection— 
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‘‘(i) no allowance for depletion shall 
be allowed by reason of paragraph (1) with 
respect to the taxpayer’s marginal produc-
tion of domestic crude oil and domestic 
natural gas, and 
‘‘(ii) such production shall not be 
taken into account— 
‘‘(I) in determining under para-
graph (1) how much of the taxpayer’s 
depletable oil quantity or depletable 
natural gas quantity has been used, or 
‘‘(II) for purposes of applying 
subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of 
paragraph (7). 
‘‘(C) MARGINAL PRODUCTION.—The term 
‘marginal production’ means domestic crude oil 
or domestic natural gas which is produced dur-
ing any taxable year from a property which— 
‘‘(i) is a stripper well property for the 
calendar year in which the taxable year be-
gins, or 
‘‘(ii) is a property substantially all of 
the production of which during such cal-
endar year is heavy oil. 
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‘‘(D) STRIPPER
WELL
PROPERTY.—For 
purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘stripper 
well property’ means, with respect to any cal-
endar year, any property with respect to which 
the amount determined by dividing— 
‘‘(i) the average daily production of 
domestic crude oil and domestic natural 
gas from producing wells on such property 
for such calendar year, by 
‘‘(ii) the number of such wells, 
is 15 barrel equivalents or less. 
‘‘(E) HEAVY OIL.—For purposes of this 
paragraph, the term ‘heavy oil’ means domestic 
crude oil produced from any property if such 
crude oil had a weighted average gravity of 20 
degrees API or less (corrected to 60 degrees 
Fahrenheit). 
‘‘(F) NONAPPLICATION
OF
TAXABLE
IN-
COME LIMIT WITH RESPECT TO MARGINAL PRO-
DUCTION.—The second sentence of subsection 
(a) of section 613 shall not apply to so much 
of the allowance for depletion as is determined 
under subparagraph (A).’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
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(A) Section 613A(c)(3) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 (defining depletable oil 
quantity) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(3) DEPLETABLE
OIL
QUANTITY.—For pur-
poses of paragraph (1), the taxpayer’s depletable oil 
quantity shall be 1,000 barrels.’’. 
(B) Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 
613A(c)(7) of such Code are each amended by 
striking ‘‘or (6), as the case may be’’. 
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by this subsection shall apply to taxable years begin-
ning after December 31, 2008. 
(b) 1-YEAR EXTENSION OF SUSPENSION OF TAX-
ABLE INCOME LIMIT.—Section 613A(c)(6)(H)(ii) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to temporary sus-
pension of taxable income limit with respect to marginal 
production) is amended by striking ‘‘2010’’ and inserting 
‘‘2011’’. 
SEC. 3. OIL AND GAS WELLS AND PIPELINE FACILITIES 
TECHNICAL AMENDMENT. 
Section 112(n)(4)(A) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 
7412(n)(4)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘this section’’ and 
inserting ‘‘this Act’’. 
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SEC. 4. NATIONAL RESPONSE SYSTEM. 
Section 311(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 
Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)) is amended by striking paragraph 
(1) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) SYSTEM.— 
‘‘(A) 
DEFINITION
OF
WASTEWATER 
TREATMENT FACILITY.—In this paragraph, the 
term ‘wastewater treatment facility’ includes 
produced water from an oil production facility. 
‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.—Consistent with the 
National Contingency Plan required under sub-
section (d), as soon as practicable after the ef-
fective date of this section, and from time to 
time thereafter, the President shall promulgate 
regulations consistent with maritime safety and 
marine and navigation laws— 
‘‘(i) establishing methods and proce-
dures for removal of discharged oil and 
hazardous substances; 
‘‘(ii) establishing criteria for the de-
velopment and implementation of local and 
regional oil and hazardous substance re-
moval contingency plans; 
‘‘(iii) establishing procedures, meth-
ods, and requirements and other require-
ments for equipment to prevent discharges 
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of oil and hazardous substances from ves-
sels and from onshore facilities and off-
shore facilities (other than wastewater 
treatment facilities), and to contain those 
discharges; and 
‘‘(iv) governing the inspection of ves-
sels carrying cargoes of oil and hazardous 
substances and the inspection of those car-
goes in order to reduce the likelihood of 
discharges of oil from vessels in violation 
of this section. 
‘‘(C) SMALL FACILITIES.—In carrying out 
clause (iii) of subparagraph (B), not later than 
1 year after the date of enactment of that 
clause, the Administrator shall establish proce-
dures, methods, and equipment requirements 
and other requirements for, and consider the 
cost-effectiveness of those requirements on, 
small facilities (including agricultural and oil 
production facilities) to prevent discharges from 
facilities and offshore facilities, and to contain 
those discharges, by developing regulations 
based on storage volume and capacity that, with 
respect to those small facilities— 
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‘‘(i) apply to any facility the total oil 
storage capacity of which is at least 1,320 
gallons but less than 50,000 gallons, and 
at which no single tank exceeds a nominal 
capacity of 21,000 gallons; and 
‘‘(ii) establish minimal requirements 
and plans by eliminating engineer certifi-
cation, flow lines, loading and unloading 
areas, integrity testing, and other require-
ments, as determined by the Adminis-
trator, that do not take into consideration 
and meet cost-effectiveness standards.’’. 
SEC. 5. RECOVERY PERIOD FOR DEPRECIATION OF PROP-
ERTY USED TO INJECT QUALIFIED TERTIARY 
INJECTANTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 168(e)(3)(A) of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986 (defining 3-year property) is 
amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (ii), by 
striking the period at the end of clause (iii) and inserting 
‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the end the following new 
clause: 
‘‘(iv) any qualified tertiary injectant 
property.’’. 
(b) QUALIFIED TERTIARY INJECTANT PROPERTY.— 
Section 168(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (re-
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lating to classification of property) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(9) QUALIFIED TERTIARY INJECTANT PROP-
ERTY.—The term ‘qualified tertiary injectant prop-
erty’ means— 
‘‘(A) any property— 
‘‘(i) the principal use of which is to 
inject any tertiary injectant as a part of a 
tertiary recovery method (as defined in sec-
tion 193(b)(3)), or 
‘‘(ii) which is a pipeline used to carry 
any tertiary injectant in connection with 
such tertiary recovery method, and 
‘‘(B) which has a class life of more than 4 
years.’’. 
(c) ALTERNATIVE SYSTEM.—The table contained in 
section 168(g)(3)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
subparagraph (A)(iii) the following new item: 
‘‘(A)(iv) ..............................................................................................
7’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to property placed in service after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, in taxable years 
ending after such date. 
Æ 
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