[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3496 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 3496

  To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to address measuring methane 
                   emissions, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 13, 2023

 Mr. Braun (for himself, Mr. Casey, Mr. Risch, Mr. Lee, Mr. Marshall, 
Mr. Cruz, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Moran, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Schmitt, Mr. Lankford, 
Mr. Fetterman, and Mr. Brown) introduced the following bill; which was 
    read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to address measuring methane 
                   emissions, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 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''.

SEC. 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.
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