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H.R. 1217

U.S. House•In House Committee

Summary

H.R. 1217, the Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 2025, was introduced in the House on Feb 11, 2025 by Rep. Glenn Thompson (R) with 4 co-sponsors. It was referred to Natural Resources, and last saw action on Feb 11, 2025: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Record

Text

H.R. 1217 has 4 co-sponsors.

hb1217/introduced-in-house.txt
119 HR 1217 IH: Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 2025
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-02-11
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 1217  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.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 2025  .
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 .
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.

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

  1. Introduced2025-02-11
  2. Passed House
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Conference
  5. To President
  6. Became Law

CRS Summary

The summaries are the Congressional Research Service’s, one per stage. Read them in full.

Introduced in House Feb 11, 2025

hb1217/introduced-in-house.md

Shown Here:
Introduced in House (02/11/2025)

Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 2025

This 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.

Sponsors

Rep. Glenn Thompson (R) sponsors H.R. 1217, and 4 members have co-sponsored it, 1 of them from the day it was introduced.

Committees

H.R. 1217 went before 1 committee: Natural Resources.

Natural Resources
Natural Resources
Referred To · Feb 11, 2025 · 395 Bills

Actions

H.R. 1217 has taken 2 actions since Feb 11, 2025.

ChamberAction
Feb 11, 2025
House
Introduced in House
Feb 11, 2025
House
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.Natural Resources Committee

Votes

H.R. 1217 has not gone to a roll call.

Titles

H.R. 1217 goes by 3 titles, 1 of them short titles.

  • Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 2025 — Display Title
  • Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 2025 — Short Title(s) as Introduced
  • To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to address measuring methane emissions, and for other purposes. — Official Title as Introduced

Lobbying

3 clients hired 3 firms and 37 registered lobbyists who named H.R. 1217 in 4 quarterly filings, 2025. Reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act; a filing’s income covers everything its registrant worked that quarter, so the amounts below are the filings’, not this bill’s.

Filed under Energy/Nuclear, Budget/Appropriations, Environment/Superfund, Financial Institutions/Investments/Securities, Natural Resources, Agriculture, Taxation/Internal Revenue Code, Transportation.

Clients

Who paid to be heard, by how many filings named the bill.

ClientBusinessStateFirmsFilingsReported
CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS, INC.—District of Columbia12—
HERITAGE ACTION FOR AMERICA—District of Columbia11—
NATURE CONSERVANCY—Virginia11—

Firms

Registrants who filed on the bill, by filings.

RegistrantClientsFilingsReported
CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS, INC.12—
HERITAGE ACTION FOR AMERICA11—
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY11—

Lobbyists

Named on the filings that cite the bill. The 20 named most often, of 37.

LobbyistFirmsClientsFilings
ALEXANDER DIAZ112
RYAN MCMANUS112
THOMAS REYNOLDS112
ALEXANDRA MURDOCH111
APRIL DONNELLY111
BRENT KEITH111
BRIDGET COLLINS111
CATHERINE BARRETT111
CATHY BAKER111
CHEYENNE YOUNG111
CHRISTIAN STUMPF111
CHRISTINA MCGREGOR111
CHRISTINE SUR111
ELEANOR TRENARY111
ELIZABETH CROW111
ELLICIA SANCHEZ111
GREGORY JACOB111
JAINA MOAN111
JAMES HOWE111
JENNIFER CONNER NELMS111

Filings

The documents themselves, on the Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure site, largest reported first.

ClientRegistrantPeriodReportedDocument
NATURE CONSERVANCYTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY2025 second_quarter$2.3M2nd Quarter - Report
CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS, INC.CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS, INC.2025 second_quarter$430K2nd Quarter - Report
CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS, INC.CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS, INC.2025 first_quarter$290K1st Quarter - Report
HERITAGE ACTION FOR AMERICAHERITAGE ACTION FOR AMERICA2025 first_quarter$100K1st Quarter - Report

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files H.R. 1217 under Environmental Protection, one of its 31 policy areas.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; H.R. 1217’s is Environmental Protection.

hr1217/policy-areas.txt
Environmental ProtectionAgriculture and FoodAnimalsArmed Forces and National SecurityArts, Culture, ReligionCivil Rights and Liberties, Minority IssuesCommerceCongressCrime and Law EnforcementEconomics and Public FinanceEducationEmergency ManagementEnergyFamiliesFinance and Financial SectorForeign Trade and International FinanceGovernment Operations and PoliticsHealthHousing and Community DevelopmentImmigrationInternational AffairsLabor and EmploymentLawNative AmericansPublic Lands and Natural ResourcesScience, Technology, CommunicationsSocial WelfareSports and RecreationTaxationTransportation and Public WorksWater Resources Development

Constitutional authority

The clause the sponsor cites as Congress’s power to enact H.R. 1217, as entered in the Congressional Record.

[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 11, 2025)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania:H.R. 1217.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 of the U.S. Constitution inthat the legislation exercises legislative powers granted toCongress by that clause ``to make all Laws which shall benecessary and proper for carrying into Execution theforegoing Powers and all other Powers vested by theConstitution in the Government of the United States or anyDepartment or Office thereof.''[Page H646]

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com