Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 2025

HR 1217, the Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 2025, amends federal grant rules for cleaning up orphaned oil and gas wells by removing the requirement for states to measure methane emissions as a condition for receiving funding. It allows states to use estimated data from well plugging projects (without needing to collect new monitoring data) for reporting purposes. The bill also mandates a National Academies study to analyze how well-plugging activities affect local economies, housing, and water quality in communities where many wells are cleaned up, requiring input from all U.S. regions and agencies like HUD. This study must be completed within 18 months after the final grant is awarded, using existing federal funding.