Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 2025

Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 2025 would modify the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to give states more flexibility in applying for and using grants to plug and remediate orphan wells. The bill says states are not required to measure methane emissions or conduct certain monitoring activities as a condition of grant eligibility, and it allows estimates based on pre- or post-plugging monitoring data to be used—if states choose to collect such data. In addition, the bill directs the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) to study how plugging and remediation activities affect communities, including economic development, housing trends, and water quality, with input from states across all regions and coordination with HUD, the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, and other federal agencies. The NAS study must be completed using existing Interior Department funds and roughly within 18 months after the last grant is awarded. The core goals are to provide grant applicants with flexibility on methane-measurement requirements and to generate rigorous, independent evidence about the broader community impacts of the orphan-well plugging program to inform future policy choices.