,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hccb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,september #ba1      
#bjbj,mr4 ,thompson of ,pennsylvania    
7for himself and ,mr4 ,reschenthaler7   
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on ,natural 
,resources  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend the    
,energy ,policy ,act of #bjje to        
reauthorize a program to address        
orphaned1 abandoned1 or idled wells on  
,federal land1 to establish a program to
 provide grants to ,states and ,tribes  
to address orphaned wells1 and for other
 purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act 
may be cited as the ,plugging ,orphan   
,wells and ,environmental ,restoration  
,act of #bjbj or the ,,power ,act of    
#bjbj4  #b4 ,federal lands ,section     
#cdi7;h77#a7 of the ,energy ,policy ,act
 of #bjje 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aeijg7;h77#a77
 is amended by striking #be1jjj1jjj for 
each of fiscal years #bjjf through #bjaj
 and inserting #ej1jjj1jjj for each of  
fiscal years #bjba through #bjbe4  #c4  

,state and ,tribal lands  7a7 ,state and
 ,tribal orphaned wells  7#a7 ,in       
general ,not later than #ij days after  
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,secretary of the ,interior shall   
establish a program to provide grants to
 ,states and ,indian ,tribes to         
remediate1 reclaim1 and close orphaned  
oil and gas wells located on ,state1    
,tribal1 or private lands4  7#b7        
,activities ,funds distributed under    
this subsection may be used by ,states  
and ,indian ,tribes for-- 7,a7          
reclaiming1 remediating1 and closing    
orphaned wells2  7,b7 reclaiming and    
remediating well pads and access roads  
associated with orphaned wells2  7,c7   
restoring native species habitat that   
has been degraded due to the presence of
 orphaned wells2  7,d7 seeking to       
determine the identities of potentially 
responsible parties associated with the 
orphaned well sites1 or their sureties  
or guarantors1 to the extent such       
information can be ascertained1 and make

 efforts to obtain reimbursement for    
expenditures to the extent practicable2 
7,e7 identification and characterization
 of undocumented orphaned wells on      
,state1 ,tribal1 and private lands2     
7,f7 ranking orphaned or abandoned well 
sites based on factors such as public   
health and safety1 potential            
environmental harm1 and other land use  
priorities2  7,g7 administration of a   
,state or ,tribal orphaned well closure 
program1 provided that no more than #aj 
percent of the funds received by a      
,state or ,indian ,tribe under this     
subsection may be used for this purpose2
 and  7,h7 making information regarding 
the use of funds under this subsection  
available to the public4  7#c7 ,priority
 ,in providing grants under this        
subsection1 the ,secretary shall give   
priority to ,states and ,indian ,tribes 
that have an established ,state or      
,tribal program for the remediation1    
reclamation1 or closure of abandoned1   
idled1 or orphaned oil and gas wells4   

7#d7 ,application ,states and ,indian   
,tribes shall be eligible for grants    
under this subsection upon application  
to the ,secretary of the ,interior4     
,such application shall include-- 7,a7 a
 prioritized list of the wells1 well    
sites1 and affected areas that will be  
remediated1 reclaimed1 or closed2  7,b7 
a description of the activities to be   
carried out with the grant1 including an
 identification of the estimated health1
 safety1 habitat1 and environmental     
benefits of remediating1 reclaiming1 or 
closing each well1 well site1 or        
affected area2  7,c7 an estimate of the 
cost of each proposed project2  7,d7 an 
estimate of the number of jobs that will
 be created or saved through the        
projects to be funded under this        
subsection2  7,e7 an estimate of the    
funds to be spent on administrative     
costs2 and  7,f7 a description of how   
the information regarding the ,state's  
or ,indian ,tribe's activities under    
this subsection will be made available  

to the public4  7#e7 ,allocation ,the   
,secretary shall1 in consultation with  
,states1 affected ,indian ,tribes1 and  
the ,interstate ,oil and ,gas ,compact  
,commission1 develop a formula for the  
amount of grant funding each ,state or  
,indian ,tribe is eligible for under    
this subsection1 taking into account--  
7,a7 the number of documented orphaned  
wells within the ,state or on each      
,indian ,tribe's lands2  7,b7 the amount
 of oil and gas activity within the     
,state or on ,tribal lands in the       
previous #aj years2 and  7,c7 the number
 of jobs lost in the oil and gas sector 
since ,march #a1 #bjbj4  7b7 ,technical 
assistance  7#a7 ,in general ,the       
,secretary of ,energy1 in cooperation   
with the ,secretary1 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 ,state1      

,tribal1 or private land4  7#b7         
,assistance ,the ,secretary of ,energy  
shall work with the ,states1 through the
 ,interstate ,oil and ,gas ,compact     
,commission1 to assist the ,states in   
quantifying and mitigating environmental
 risks of onshore orphaned or abandoned 
oil or gas wells on ,state1 ,tribal1 and
 private land4  7#c7 ,activities ,the   
program under paragraph 7#a7 shall      
include-- 7,a7 mechanisms to facilitate 
identification1 if feasible1 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 abandoned2  7,b7 criteria for ranking
 orphaned or abandoned well sites based 
on factors such as public health and    
safety1 potential environmental harm1   
and other land use priorities2  7,c7    
information and training programs on    
best practices for remediation of       
different types of sites2 and  7,d7     
funding of ,state mitigation efforts on 

a cost-shared basis4  7c7 ,report to    
,congress ,not later than #a year after 
the date of enactment of this section1  
and every year thereafter1 the          
,secretary shall submit to ,congress a  
report on the programs established under
 this section1 including the number of  
jobs created and the number of orphaned 
wells reclaimed4  7d7 ,liability        
protection ,a person who provides       
equipment1 materials1 or services to    
plug1 or attempt to plug1 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 conduct4  7e7 
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7     
,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 site4  7#b7 
,responsible party ,the term responsible

 party has the meaning given to it by   
the relevant ,state1 or if the relevant 
state does not provide a definition1    
means any person1 association1          
corporation1 subsidiary1 or affiliate   
that directly or indirectly1 controls1  
manages1 directs1 or undertakes the     
activities with respect to an oil and   
gas lease or any person or entity       
controlled by1 or under common control  
with1 such person or entity4  7f7       
,appropriations ,there are authorized to
 be appropriated to the ,secretary of   
the ,interior #djj1jjj1jjj for each of  
fiscal years #bjba through #bjbe to     
carry out this section4