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Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 2025
To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to address measuring methane emissions, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill amends federal law governing grants for plugging and remediating orphaned oil and gas wells. It makes methane emissions measurement optional rather than required for states to qualify for grant funding, and allows states to use estimated data from monitoring activities instead of requiring actual measurements. The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to commission the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study the effects of these well-plugging activities on economic development, housing trends, and environmental improvements in affected areas across the country. The study must include at least one state from each U.S. region and consult with multiple federal agencies, with results due within 18 months of the final grant award.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
4 cosponsors
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Glenn Thompson’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- NULL $136,590
- EMPRESAS FONALLEDAS $14,900
- SNYDER ASSOCIATED COMPANIES $12,500
- COINBASE $12,400
- TOM JAMES COMPANY $11,000
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Glenn Thompson → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Feb 11, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. · house
- Feb 11, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 11, 2025
Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania (for himself and Mr. Deluzio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
A BILL
To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to address measuring methane emissions, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 2025”.
SEC. 2. PRE-PLUGGING METHANE EMISSIONS FOR GRANT ELIGIBILITY.
Section 349 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15907) is amended—
(1) in subsection (c)(2), by adding at the end the following:
“(C) Activities not required.—Nothing in this section requires a State to measure methane emissions or conduct other activities described in subparagraph
(A), which are activities a State may conduct but is not required to conduct, as a condition of eligibility for a grant under this subsection.”; and
(2) in subsection (f)(2), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting “, which may include estimates derived from pre-plugging or post-plugging monitoring data that States may, but are not required to, collect using funding from grants awarded under this section,” after “estimate”.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL ACADEMIES STUDY ON COMMUNITY IMPACT OF ORPHANED WELL GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Study.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall—
(1) seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine under which the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine shall carry out a study on the effect of the plugging and remediation activity conducted under section 349 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15907) on economic development, housing trends, and other potential benefits (such as improvements in water quality) in areas where the plugging and remediation activity conducted under that section reclaimed a high number of sites, as determined by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; and
(2) to the maximum extent practicable, provide the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine with information necessary to carry out the study described in paragraph (1).
(b) Key Inputs.—The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine shall ensure that at least 1 State from each region of the United States (Northeast, Southwest, West, Southeast, and Midwest) shall be key inputs to the study carried out under subsection (a).
(c) Consultation.—In carrying out the study under subsection (a), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine shall consult with—
(1) the Department of Housing and Urban Development, with respect to—
(A) how the plugging and remediation activity conducted under section 349 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15907) has affected economic development and housing trends; and
(B) how data on locations of plugging and remediation priorities from the Department of the Interior may be valuable to the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
(2) the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, to provide data required to carry out the study under subsection
(a); and
(3) other Federal agencies, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
(d) Report.—Not later than 18 months after the date on which the last grant is awarded under section 349 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15907), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine shall submit to Congress a report detailing the findings of the study carried out under subsection (a).
(e) Use of Existing Funds.—This section shall be carried out using amounts otherwise made available to the Secretary of the Interior. <all>
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