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‘‘(l) RECEIPTS.—All’’;
(15) by redesignating clauses (A), (B), and (C)
as clauses (1), (2), and (3), respectively;
(16) by striking ‘‘Any agency’’ and inserting
the following:
‘‘(m) EXPLORATIONS.—Any agency’’;
(17) by striking ‘‘Any action’’ and inserting the
following:
‘‘(n) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS.—
‘‘(1) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any action’’;
(18) by striking ‘‘The detailed’’ and inserting
the following:
‘‘(2) INITIAL LEASE SALES.—The detailed’’;
(19) by striking ‘‘of the Naval Petroleum Re-
serves Production Act of 1976 (90 Stat. 304; 42
U.S.C. 6504)’’; and
(20) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(o) WAIVER OF ADMINISTRATION FOR CONVEYED
LANDS.—Notwithstanding section 14(g) of the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1613(g)) or any
other provision of law—
‘‘(1) the Secretary of the Interior shall waive
administration of any oil and gas lease insofar as
such lease covers any land in the National Petro-
leum Reserve in Alaska in which the subsurface es-
891
tate is conveyed to the Arctic Slope Regional Cor-
poration; and
‘‘(2) if any such conveyance of such subsurface
estate does not cover all the land embraced within
any such oil and gas lease—
‘‘(A) the person who owns the subsurface
estate in any particular portion of the land cov-
ered by such lease shall be entitled to all of the
revenues reserved under such lease as to such
portion, including, without limitation, all the
royalty payable with respect to oil or gas pro-
duced from or allocated to such particular por-
tion of the land covered by such lease; and
‘‘(B) the Secretary of the Interior shall
segregate such lease into 2 leases, 1 of which
shall cover only the subsurface estate conveyed
to the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, and
operations, production, or other circumstances
(other than payment of rentals or royalties)
that satisfy obligations of the lessee under, or
maintain, either of the segregated leases shall
likewise satisfy obligations of the lessee under,
or maintain, the other segregated lease to the
same extent as if such segregated leases re-
892
mained a part of the original unsegregated
lease.’’.
SEC. 2008. ORPHANED, ABANDONED, OR IDLED WELLS ON
FEDERAL LAND.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in cooperation
with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall establish a pro-
gram not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act to remediate, reclaim, and close orphaned,
abandoned, or idled oil and gas wells located on land ad-
ministered by the land management agencies within the
Department of the Interior and the Department of Agri-
culture.
(b) ACTIVITIES.—The program under subsection (a)
shall—
(1) include a means of ranking orphaned, aban-
doned, or idled wells sites for priority in remedi-
ation, reclamation, and closure, based on public
health and safety, potential environmental harm,
and other land use priorities;
(2) provide for identification and recovery of
the costs of remediation, reclamation, and closure
from persons or other entities currently providing a
bond or other financial assurance required under
State or Federal law for an oil or gas well that is
orphaned, abandoned, or idled; and
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(3) provide for recovery from the persons or en-
tities identified under paragraph (2), or their sure-
ties or guarantors, of the costs of remediation, rec-
lamation, and closure of such wells.
(c) COOPERATION
AND CONSULTATIONS.—In car-
rying out the program under subsection (a), the Secretary
shall—
(1) work cooperatively with the Secretary of Ag-
riculture and the States within which Federal land
is located; and
(2) consult with the Secretary of Energy and
the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission.
(d) PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in cooperation with
the Secretary of Agriculture, shall submit to Congress a
plan for carrying out the program under subsection (a).
(e) IDLED WELL.—For the purposes of this section,
a well is idled if—
(1) the well has been nonoperational for at least
7 years; and
(2) there is no anticipated beneficial use for the
well.
(f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
FOR NON-
FEDERAL LAND.—
894
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy
shall establish a program to provide technical and fi-
nancial assistance to oil and gas producing States to
facilitate State efforts over a 10-year period to en-
sure a practical and economical remedy for environ-
mental problems caused by orphaned or abandoned
oil and gas exploration or production well sites on
State or private land.
(2) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of Energy
shall work with the States, through the Interstate
Oil and Gas Compact Commission, to assist the
States in quantifying and mitigating environmental
risks of onshore orphaned or abandoned oil or gas
wells on State and private land.
(3) ACTIVITIES.—The program under para-
graph (1) shall include—
(A) mechanisms to facilitate identification,
if feasible, of the persons currently providing a
bond or other form of financial assurance re-
quired under State or Federal law for an oil or
gas well that is orphaned or abandoned;
(B) criteria for ranking orphaned or aban-
doned well sites based on factors such as public
health and safety, potential environmental
harm, and other land use priorities;
895
(C) information and training programs on
best practices for remediation of different types
of sites; and
(D) funding of State mitigation efforts on
a cost-shared basis.
(g) FEDERAL REIMBURSEMENT
FOR ORPHANED
WELL RECLAMATION PILOT PROGRAM.—
(1) REIMBURSEMENT FOR REMEDIATING, RE-
CLAIMING, AND CLOSING WELLS ON LAND SUBJECT
TO A NEW LEASE.—The Secretary shall carry out a
pilot program under which, in issuing a new oil and
gas lease on federally owned land on which 1 or
more orphaned wells are located, the Secretary—
(A) may require, but not as a condition of
the lease, that the lessee remediate, reclaim,
and close in accordance with standards estab-
lished by the Secretary, all orphaned wells on
the land leased; and
(B) shall develop a program to reimburse
a lessee, through a royalty credit against the
Federal share of royalties owed or other means,
for the reasonable actual costs of remediating,
reclaiming, and closing the orphaned well pur-
suant to that requirement.
896
(2) REIMBURSEMENT
FOR
RECLAIMING
OR-
PHANED WELLS ON OTHER LAND.—In carrying out
this subsection, the Secretary—
(A) may authorize any lessee under an oil
and gas lease on federally owned land to re-
claim in accordance with the Secretary’s
standards—
(i) an orphaned well on unleased fed-
erally owned land; or
(ii) an orphaned well located on an ex-
isting lease on federally owned land for the
reclamation of which the lessee is not le-
gally responsible; and
(B) shall develop a program to provide re-
imbursement of 115 percent of the reasonable
actual costs of remediating, reclaiming, and
closing the orphaned well, through credits
against the Federal share of royalties or other
means.
(3) EFFECT OF REMEDIATION, RECLAMATION,
OR CLOSURE OF WELL PURSUANT TO AN APPROVED
REMEDIATION PLAN.—
(A) 
DEFINITION
OF
REMEDIATING
PARTY.—In this paragraph the term ‘‘remedi-
ating party’’ means a person who remediates,
897
reclaims, or closes an abandoned, orphaned, or
idled well pursuant to this subsection.
(B) GENERAL RULE.—A remediating party
who remediates, reclaims, or closes an aban-
doned, orphaned, or idled well in accordance
with a detailed written remediation plan ap-
proved by the Secretary under this subsection,
shall be immune from civil liability under Fed-
eral environmental laws, for—
(i) pre-existing environmental condi-
tions at or associated with the well, unless
the remediating party owns or operates, in
the past owned or operated, or is related to
a person that owns or operates or in the
past owned or operated, the well or the
land on which the well is located; or
(ii) any remaining releases of pollut-
ants from the well during or after comple-
tion of the remediation, reclamation, or
closure of the well, unless the remediating
party causes increased pollution as a result
of activities that are not in accordance
with the approved remediation plan.
(C) LIMITATIONS.—Nothing in this section
shall limit in any way the liability of a remedi-