H.R. 1217 — Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 2025

This section establishes the short title as the “Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 2025.”

This section revises the State grant program for orphaned well plugging under section 349 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15907) by (1) providing that a State is not required to measure methane emissions or conduct other methane-related activities described in subsection (c)(2)(A) as a condition of grant eligibility, and (2) allowing the Secretary’s methane-emissions estimates to include estimates derived from pre-plugging or post-plugging monitoring data that States may, but are not required to, collect using grant funds under this section. (Thus, States may receive grants without first conducting methane monitoring, while the program may still use optional monitoring data to estimate emissions reductions.)

This section directs the Secretary of the Interior, not later than 180 days after enactment, to seek an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study the effects of the orphaned well plugging and remediation grant program 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 improved water quality, in areas where a high number of sites were reclaimed. It also requires the Secretary, to the maximum extent practicable, to provide the National Academies with the information needed to conduct the study. This section requires the National Academies to include at least 1 State from each of the 5 U.S. regions—Northeast, Southwest, West, Southeast, and Midwest—as key inputs to the study, and to consult with the Department of Housing and Urban Development on the program’s effects on economic development and housing trends and on the value of Interior’s location data for HUD. It also requires consultation with the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission and other Federal agencies as determined by the Secretary in consultation with the National Academies. This section requires the National Academies to submit a report to Congress 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), and specifies that the study must be carried out using amounts otherwise made available to the Secretary of the Interior.