United States 119th Congress Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 4 R · 1 D cosponsors

HR 1217 — Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 2025

Last action — Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 11, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Prognosis

Advancing 40% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 5 sponsors

    1 primary, 4 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (4 R · 1 D) — cross-party backing.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 2025This bill removes certain requirements, including measuring methane emissions, for grants to states under the State Orphaned Wells Program.Under the program, the Department of the Interior provides grants to states for the following purposes: (1) plugging, remediating, and reclaiming orphaned wells located on federal land; (2) identifying and characterizing undocumented orphaned wells; (3) measuring and tracking emissions of gases (e.g., methane) or contamination of water associated with orphaned wells; or (4) conducting certain other related activities. Generally, orphaned wells are oil and gas wells without solvent owners or operators responsible for cleaning up leaks from the wells. In 2024, Interior issued guidance for the grant program that requires states to conduct certain measuring and tracking activities related to the orphaned wells before and after receiving grants. However, the bill specifies that states are not required to provide such information in order to receive a grant. Instead, the bill makes measuring and tracking optional.The bill also directs Interior to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study the effect of the plugging and remediation activity on economic development, housing trends, and other potential benefits in areas where the plugging and remediation activity reclaimed a high number of well sites.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

2 changes Share ↗

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to clarify that states are not required to measure methane emissions for grant eligibility and to include provisions for a study on the community impact of orphaned well remediation activities.

  • 42 U.S.C. 15907

    (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.

    This change clarifies that states can choose not to measure methane emissions without losing eligibility for grants.

  • 42 U.S.C. 15907

    , 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,

    This change allows for the inclusion of estimates based on monitoring data in grant applications, without imposing a requirement on states to collect such data.

Action History

  1. Introduced in House

  2. Introduced in House

  3. Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 4 co-sponsors · 542 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (4)

Not signed on (542)

542 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

housing environment energy
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Frequently asked questions

What does HR 1217 do?
Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 2025This bill removes certain requirements, including measuring methane emissions, for grants to states under the State Orphaned Wells Program.Under the program, the Department of the Interior provides grants to states for the following purposes: (1) plugging, remediating, and reclaiming orphaned wells located on federal land; (2) identifying and characterizing undocumented orphaned wells; (3) measuring and tracking emissions of gases (e.g., methane) or contamination of water associated with orphaned wells; or (4) conducting certain other related activities. Generally, orphaned wells are oil and gas wells without solvent owners or operators responsible for cleaning up leaks from the wells. In 2024, Interior issued guidance for the grant program that requires states to conduct certain measuring and tracking activities related to the orphaned wells before and after receiving grants. However, the bill specifies that states are not required to provide such information in order to receive a grant. Instead, the bill makes measuring and tracking optional.The bill also directs Interior to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study the effect of the plugging and remediation activity on economic development, housing trends, and other potential benefits in areas where the plugging and remediation activity reclaimed a high number of well sites.
Who sponsors HR 1217?
HR 1217 is sponsored by Thompson, Glenn (Republican), Deluzio, Christopher R. (Democratic), Estes, Ron (Republican), Langworthy, Nicholas A. (Republican), and Lawler, Michael (Republican).
What is the current status of HR 1217?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 11, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HR 1217?
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