[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4781 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4781
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
July 28, 2021
Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania (for himself and Mr. Carbajal) 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.
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 ``Plugging Orphan Wells and
Environmental Restoration Act of 2021'' or the ``POWER Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. FEDERAL LANDS.
Section 349(h)(1) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C.
15907(h)(1)) is amended by striking ``$25,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2006 through 2010'' and inserting ``$50,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2022 through 2026''.
SEC. 3. STATE AND TRIBAL LANDS.
(a) State and Tribal Orphaned Wells.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall
establish a program to provide grants to States and Indian
Tribes to remediate, reclaim, and close orphaned oil and gas
wells located on State, Tribal, or private lands.
(2) Activities.--Funds distributed under this subsection
may be used by States and Indian Tribes for--
(A) reclaiming, remediating, and closing orphaned
wells;
(B) reclaiming and remediating well pads and access
roads associated with orphaned wells;
(C) restoring native species habitat that has been
degraded due to the presence of orphaned wells;
(D) seeking to determine the identities of
potentially responsible parties associated with the
orphaned well sites, or their sureties or guarantors,
to the extent such information can be ascertained, and
make efforts to obtain reimbursement for expenditures
to the extent practicable;
(E) identification and characterization of
undocumented orphaned wells on State, Tribal, and
private lands;
(F) ranking orphaned or abandoned well sites based
on factors such as public health and safety, potential
environmental harm, and other land use priorities;
(G) administration of a State or Tribal orphaned
well closure program, provided that no more than 10
percent of the funds received by a State or Indian
Tribe under this subsection may be used for this
purpose; and
(H) making information regarding the use of funds
under this subsection available to the public.
(3) Priority.--In providing grants under this subsection,
the Secretary shall give priority to States and Indian Tribes
that have an established State or Tribal program for the
remediation, reclamation, or closure of abandoned, idled, or
orphaned oil and gas wells.
(4) Restrictions and requirements.--
(A) No new obligations related to the bonding,
plugging, or transfer of stripper wells.--No State or
Indian Tribe receiving a grant under this subsection
may use such grant funds to impose new obligations
related to the bonding, plugging, or transfer of
stripper wells.
(B) Procedures for the protection of small
businesses.--A State or Indian Tribe receiving a grant
under this subsection shall be required to adhere to
measures and procedures for the protection of small
businesses comparable to those required by the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.
(5) Application.--States and Indian Tribes shall be
eligible for grants under this subsection upon application to
the Secretary of the Interior. Such application shall include--
(A) a prioritized list of the wells, well sites,
and affected areas that will be remediated, reclaimed,
or closed;
(B) a description of the activities to be carried
out with the grant, including an identification of the
estimated health, safety, habitat, and environmental
benefits of remediating, reclaiming, or closing each
well, well site, or affected area;
(C) an estimate of the cost of each proposed
project;
(D) an estimate of the number of jobs that will be
created or saved through the projects to be funded
under this subsection;
(E) an estimate of the funds to be spent on
administrative costs; and
(F) a description of how the information regarding
the State's or Indian Tribe's activities under this
subsection will be made available to the public.
(6) Allocation.--The Secretary shall, in consultation with
States, affected Indian Tribes, and the Interstate Oil and Gas
Compact Commission, develop a formula for the amount of grant
funding each State or Indian Tribe is eligible for under this
subsection, taking into account--
(A) the number of documented orphaned wells within
the State or on each Indian Tribe's lands;
(B) the amount of oil and gas activity within the
State or on Tribal lands in the previous 10 years; and
(C) the number of jobs lost in the oil and gas
sector since March 1, 2020.
(b) Technical Assistance.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Energy, in cooperation
with the Secretary, shall establish a program to provide
technical assistance to oil and gas producing States and Indian
Tribes to ensure practical and economical remedies for
environmental problems caused by orphaned or abandoned oil and
gas well sites on State, Tribal, 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, Tribal, and private land.
(3) Activities.--The program under paragraph (1) shall
include--
(A) mechanisms to facilitate identification, if
feasible, of the persons currently providing a bond or
other form of financial assurance required under State
or Federal law for an oil or gas well that is orphaned
or abandoned;
(B) criteria for ranking orphaned or abandoned well
sites based on factors such as public health and
safety, potential environmental harm, and other land
use priorities;
(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.
(c) Report to Congress.--Not later than one year after the date of
enactment of this section, and every year thereafter, the Secretary
shall submit to Congress a report on the programs established under
this section, including the number of jobs created and the number of
orphaned wells reclaimed.
(d) Liability Protection.--A person who provides equipment,
materials, or services to plug, or attempt to plug, an orphaned well
pursuant to a grant awarded to a State or Indian Tribe under this Act
shall be immune from civil liability in any legal proceeding brought to
enforce an environmental law or otherwise impose liability for such
conduct.
(e) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) Orphaned well.--The term ``orphaned well'' means any
well not in operation for which there is no responsible party
known to the Secretary to reclaim and remediate or close the
well site.
(2) Responsible party.--The term ``responsible party'' has
the meaning given to it by the relevant State, or if the
relevant State does not provide a definition, means any person,
association, corporation, subsidiary, or affiliate that
directly or indirectly, controls, manages, directs, or
undertakes the activities with respect to an oil and gas lease
or any person or entity controlled by, or under common control
with, such person or entity.
(3) Stripper well.--The term ``stripper well'' means an
onshore facility that produces, in a 12-month consecutive time
period--
(A) 15 barrels per well or less per calendar day of
crude oil; or
(B) 90,000 cubic feet per calendar day or less of
natural gas.
(f) Appropriations.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the
Secretary of the Interior $400,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021
through 2025 to carry out this section.
<all>