Findings

Congress finds that— (1) according to the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, there are in existence not fewer than 140,000 documented orphaned well sites, and between 250,000 and 740,000 undocumented orphaned well sites, across the United States on Federal, State, Tribal, and private land; (2) as of December 2024, the Bureau of Land Management estimated there were more than 15,000 orphaned wells on Federal land; (3) (A) orphaned well sites— (i) pose significant public health, safety, and environmental risks; and (ii) should be remediated; (B) there are no identified responsible parties to provide for the remediation of those sites; and (C) as a consequence, Federal and State taxes are frequently used to provide funding for plugging and reclaiming those sites; (4) under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), the Secretary of the Interior is required— (A) to ensure the complete and timely reclamation of all Federal onshore oil and gas leases; and (B) to secure financial assurances in the form of bonds, sureties, or other approved financial arrangements for remediation, reclamation, and well closure; (5) in November 2021, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58; 135 Stat. 429), which— (A) provided $4,700,000,000 in funding to reclaim orphaned wells on Federal, State, Tribal, and private land; (B) required the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to plug, remediate, and reclaim orphaned wells on Federal land; and (C) required the Secretary of the Interior to reduce the inventory of idled wells on Federal land; and (6) the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58; 135 Stat. 429) helped to address urgent public health and safety and environmental issues associated with existing orphaned wells, but additional action is needed to ensure that oil and gas operators, and not taxpayers, are financing timely and adequate reclamation activities for future orphaned wells.