,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #cdif  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december #ac1 
#bjbc,mr4 ,braun 7for himself1 ,mr4     
,casey1 ,mr4 ,risch1 ,mr4 ,lee1 ,mr4    
,marshall1 ,mr4 ,cruz1 ,mr4 ,mullin1    
,mr4 ,moran1 ,mr4 ,crapo1 ,mr4 ,schmitt1
 ,mr4 ,lankford1 ,mr4 ,fetterman1 and   
,mr4 ,brown7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,energy and        
,natural ,resources  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
amend the ,energy ,policy ,act of #bjje 
to address measuring methane emissions1 
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,orphan ,well ,grant ,flexibility ,act  
of #bjbc4  #b4 ,pre-plugging methane    
emissions for grant eligibility ,section
 #cdi of the ,energy ,policy ,act of    
#bjje 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aeijg7 is         
amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7c77#b71 by
 adding at the end the following3  7,c7 
,activities not required ,nothing in    
this section requires a ,state to       

measure methane emissions or conduct    
other activities described in           
subparagraph 7,a71 which are activities 
a ,state may conduct but is not required
 to conduct1 as a condition of          
eligibility for a grant under this      
subsection4  2 and  7#b7 in subsection  
7f77#b71 in the matter preceding        
subparagraph 7,a71 by inserting 1 which 
may include estimates derived from      
pre-plugging or post-plugging monitoring
 data that ,states may1 but are not     
required to1 collect using funding from 
grants awarded under this section1 after
 estimate4  #c4 ,national ,academies    
study on community impact of orphaned   
well grant program  7a7 ,study ,not     
later than #ahj days after the date of  
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
of the ,interior shall-- 7#a7 seek to   
enter into an agreement with the        
,national ,academies of ,sciences1      
,engineering1 and ,medicine under which 
the ,national ,academies of ,sciences1  
,engineering1 and ,medicine shall carry 

out a study on the effect of the        
plugging and remediation activity       
conducted under section #cdi of the     
,energy ,policy ,act of #bjje 7#db      
,u4,s4,c4 #aeijg7 on economic           
development1 housing trends1 and other  
potential benefits 7such as improvements
 in water quality7 in areas where the   
plugging and remediation activity       
conducted under that section reclaimed a
 high number of sites1 as determined by 
the ,national ,academies of ,sciences1  
,engineering1 and ,medicine2 and  7#b7  
to the maximum extent practicable1      
provide the ,national ,academies of     
,sciences1 ,engineering1 and ,medicine  
with information necessary to carry out 
the study described in paragraph 7#a74  
7b7 ,key inputs ,the ,national          
,academies of ,sciences1 ,engineering1  
and ,medicine shall ensure that at least
 #a ,state from each region of the      
,united ,states 7,northeast1 ,southwest1
 ,west1 ,southeast1 and ,midwest7 shall 
be key inputs to the study carried out  

under subsection 7a74  7c7 ,consultation
 ,in carrying out the study under       
subsection 7a71 the ,national ,academies
 of ,sciences1 ,engineering1 and        
,medicine shall consult with-- 7#a7 the 
,department of ,housing and ,urban      
,development1 with respect to-- 7,a7 how
 the plugging and remediation activity  
conducted under section #cdi of the     
,energy ,policy ,act of #bjje 7#db      
,u4,s4,c4 #aeijg7 has affected economic 
development and housing trends2 and     
7,b7 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 ,development2  7#b7 the      
,interstate ,oil and ,gas ,compact      
,commission1 to provide data required to
 carry out the study under subsection   
7a72 and  7#c7 other ,federal agencies1 
as determined by the ,secretary of the  
,interior1 in consultation with the     
,national ,academies of ,sciences1      
,engineering1 and ,medicine4  7d7       

,report ,not later than #ah months after
 the date on which the last grant is    
awarded under section #cdi of the       
,energy ,policy ,act of #bjje 7#db      
,u4,s4,c4 #aeijg71 the ,national        
,academies of ,sciences1 ,engineering1  
and ,medicine shall submit to ,congress 
a report detailing the findings of the  
study carried out under subsection 7a74 
7e7 ,use of existing funds ,this section
 shall be carried out using amounts     
otherwise made available to the         
,secretary of the ,interior4