See other bills
under the
same topic
PRINTER'S NO. 3187
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2644
Session of
2022
INTRODUCED BY CAUSER, RAPP, METCALFE, ARMANINI, BROOKS,
HENNESSEY, HERSHEY, JAMES, MOUL, OBERLANDER, OWLETT, PICKETT,
RYAN, SMITH AND ZIMMERMAN, JUNE 2, 2022
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY,
JUNE 2, 2022
AN ACT
Amending Title 58 (Oil and Gas) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes, providing for oil and gas well plugging oversight;
in development, further providing for bonding and for well
plugging funds; establishing the Oil and Gas Well Plugging
Grant Program; and making a related repeal.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 58 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a chapter to read:
CHAPTER 28
OIL AND GAS WELL PLUGGING OVERSIGHT
Subchapter
A. Preliminary Provisions
B. Orphaned Well Site Plugging, Remediation and Restoration
Program
C. Oil and Gas Well Plugging Grant Program
SUBCHAPTER A
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Sec.
2801. Scope of chapter.
2802. Definitions.
§ 2801. Scope of chapter.
This chapter relates to the oil and gas well plugging
oversight.
§ 2802. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Department." The Department of Environmental Protection of
the Commonwealth.
"Eligible well." An orphan well that meets the requirements
under section 2823(b) (relating to eligible wells).
"Orphan well." As defined in section 3203 (relating to
definitions).
"Qualified well plugger." A person that meets the
requirements of section 2824 (relating to qualified well
plugger).
SUBCHAPTER B
ORPHANED WELL SITE PLUGGING, REMEDIATION
AND RESTORATION PROGRAM
Sec.
2811. Allocation of funding.
§ 2811. Allocation of funding.
(a) Requirements.--Federal money received from the Orphaned
Well Site Plugging, Remediation and Restoration Program under
section 40601 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
(Public Law 117-58, 135 Stat. 429) shall be subject to the
following:
20220HB2644PN3187 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(1) The amount of 80% received shall be deposited into
the Orphan Well Plugging Fund.
(2) The amount of 20% is hereby appropriated on a
continuing basis to the department for grants under
Subchapter C (relating to Oil and Gas Well Plugging Grant
Program).
(b) Records.--The department shall keep records sufficient
to document compliance with the requirements imposed under the
Orphaned Well Site Plugging, Remediation and Restoration
Program. The department may not impose requirements on the
recipients of the Federal money under subsection (a)(2) that are
stricter than the requirements imposed under State law when
awarding grants under Subchapter C.
SUBCHAPTER C
OIL AND GAS WELL PLUGGING GRANT PROGRAM
Sec.
2821. Establishment of program.
2822. Grants.
2823. Eligible wells.
2824. Qualified well plugger.
2825. Applications and review process.
2826. Reports.
§ 2821. Establishment of program.
The Oil and Gas Well Plugging Grant Program is established as
a program within the department.
§ 2822. Grants.
(a) Availability.--A qualified well plugger that plugs an
eligible well shall be eligible for a grant as provided under
this subchapter.
(b) Amount.--Subject to subsection (c), a grant under this
20220HB2644PN3187 - 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
subchapter shall be:
(1) In the amount of $10,000 for every eligible well
plugged that is an orphan well of a depth of 3,000 feet or
less.
(2) In the amount of $20,000 for every eligible well
plugged that is an orphan well of a depth greater than 3,000
feet.
(c) Adjustment.--
(1) If the department finds that it is not receiving an
adequate number of applications for grants under this
section, the department may increase the amounts under
subsection (b) at its discretion by posting the increased
amounts on its publicly accessible Internet website.
(2) The department may not decrease the amounts
specified in this subsection.
§ 2823. Eligible wells.
(a) Review of known orphan wells.--No later than 30 days
after the effective date of this subsection, the department
shall review available documentation on all known orphan wells
with no known owner or operator.
(b) Determination of eligible wells.--No later than 45 days
after the effective date of this subsection, the department
shall designate each orphan well reviewed under subsection (a)
as an eligible well if it meets the following requirements:
(1) The orphan well is not plugged in accordance with
the requirements of section 3220 (relating to plugging
requirements).
(2) No amount of a bond under section 3225 (relating to
bonding) is available to pay for the plugging of the orphan
well.
20220HB2644PN3187 - 4 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(3) No person who is financially responsible for the
plugging of the orphan well is known to the department or
likely to be identifiable.
(c) Publication of notice of availability of grants.--No
later than 60 days after the effective date of this subsection,
the department shall publish on its publicly accessible Internet
website all of the following:
(1) A list of each eligible well and any relevant
identifying information.
(2) Any available technical data that would be necessary
for a qualified well plugger to plug each eligible well on
the list under paragraph (1).
(d) Publication of notice of updated availability of
grants.--The department shall periodically update the notice
under subsection (c) to identify all of the following:
(1) Which eligible well has been the subject of an
approval under section 2825 (relating to applications and
review process).
(2) Which eligible well has been plugged in accordance
with section 3220.
(e) Plugging contract discretion.--The department may remove
an eligible well from the list under subsection (c) that the
department makes available for plugging through a contracting
process. Upon removing an eligible well from the list, the
department shall update the notice and list under subsection (c)
to reflect the removal.
§ 2824. Qualified well plugger.
(a) Criteria.--A person shall qualify as a qualified well
plugger if the person meets any of the following criteria:
(1) The person has drilled 10 or more wells in this
20220HB2644PN3187 - 5 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Commonwealth in accordance with section 3211 (relating to
well permits).
(2) The person has plugged 10 or more wells in this
Commonwealth in accordance with section 3220 (relating to
pluggin g requirements) .
(3) The person otherwise demonstrates access to the
equipment, materials, resources and services to plug wells in
accordance with section 3220.
(b) Legal responsibility.--A qualified well plugger shall
not be the person who is legally responsible for plugging the
orphan well.
§ 2825. Applications and review process.
(a) Application form.--No later than the date that the
notice of availability under section 2823(c) (relating to
eligible wells) is published, the department shall make an
application form for a grant under this subchapter available on
the department's publicly accessible Internet website.
(b) Content of applications.--An application submitted by a
qualified well plugger shall contain all of the following:
(1) The name of the qualified well plugger.
(2) A list of eligible wells listed under section
2823(c) that the qualified well plugger intends to plug in
accordance with the requirements of section 3220 (relating to
plugging requirements) if approved for a grant under this
subchapter.
(3) A certification that the qualified well plugger has
legal authority to access and perform the activities needed
to plug each well listed under paragraph (2).
(c) Acceptance of applications.--
(1) The department shall begin accepting applications
20220HB2644PN3187 - 6 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
under subsection (a) no later than the date that the
application is made available under subsection (a).
(2) As additional amounts are appropriated to the
department for the grant program under this subchapter after
the effective date of this subsection, the department shall
begin accepting applications under subsection (a) no later
than seven days after the additional money is appropriated.
(d) Review.--The department shall review and approve
applications received under subsection (c) on a rolling basis.
(e) Initial approval.--
(1) If an application submitted under subsections (b)
and (c) meets the requirements of this subchapter and if the
amount of grant money that the qualified well plugger would
be eligible to receive remains available, the department
shall approve the application and shall notify the applicant
which orphan wells on the list under subsection (b)(2) for
which the qualified well plugger has been approved to receive
a grant.
(2) An approval under this subsection shall be made
within seven days of the receipt of the application. The
department shall provide notice of the approval to the
qualified plugger within three days of the date of approval.
(f) Awarding of grant.--An approved well plugger shall be
awarded a grant if all of the following requirements are met:
(1) The qualified well plugger was previously approved
under subsection (e).
(2) The qualified well plugger plugged an orphan well
for which the qualified well plugger was approved under
subsection (e).
(3) The qualified well plugger has submitted a plugging
20220HB2644PN3187 - 7 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
certificate, prepared and signed, on a form furnished by the
department, by two experienced and qualified individuals who
participated in the work and specified the time and manner in
which the well was plugged.
(g) Amount of grant.--The amount of grant awarded under
subsection (f) shall be the sum of the amounts under section
2822 (relating to grants) for which the qualified well plugger
is approved under subsection (e). If the qualified well plugger
encounters unusual technical difficulties due to the condition
of an orphan well, the department may, upon awarding the grant,
reimburse the qualified well plugger with an additional grant
amount. The additional grant amount under this subsection shall
not exceed the amount of the grant for a specific orphan well.
The department may not award the additional grant amount under
this subsection to a qualified well operator without receiving
an adequate proof of cost from the qualified well plugger.
(h) Civil immunity.--A person who voluntarily provides
equipment, materials, resources or services for plugging an
orphan well in accordance with this subchapter shall be immune
from civil liability other than injury or damage resulting from
gross negligence or willful misconduct. The person may raise the
civil immunity protections specified in this subsection in a
legal proceeding brought to enforce the environmental laws of
this Commonwealth or otherwise impose civil liability.
§ 2826. Reports.
(a) Requirement.--No later than 21 days after the end of
each calendar quarter in which the grant program under this
subchapter receives applications, approves applications or
awards grants, the department shall issue a report.
(b) Contents.--The report under this section shall include
20220HB2644PN3187 - 8 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
all of the following:
(1) The number of applications received under section
2825(c) (relating to applications and review process) in the
quarter, year to date and since the effective date of this
subsection.
(2) The number of applications approved under section
2825(e) in the quarter, year to date and since the effective
date of this subsection.
(3) The number of grants and the total amount awarded
under section 2825(f) in the quarter, year to date and since
the effective date of this subsection.
(c) Recipients.--The report under this section shall be made
available on the publicly accessible Internet website of the
department and shall be submitted to the following:
(1) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
Appropriations Committee of the Senate.
(2) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives.
(3) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the Senate.
(4) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the House of
Representatives.
Section 2. Section 3225(a)(1) and (2) of Title 58 are
amended and the subsection is amended by adding a paragraph to
read:
§ 3225. Bonding.
(a) General rule.--The following shall apply:
(1) Except as provided in subsection (d), upon filing an
application for a well permit and before continuing to
20220HB2644PN3187 - 9 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
operate an oil or gas well, the owner or operator of the well
shall file with the department a bond covering the well and
well site on a form to be prescribed and furnished by the
department. A bond filed with an application for a well
permit shall be payable to the Commonwealth and conditioned
upon the operator's faithful performance of all drilling,
water supply replacement, restoration and plugging
requirements of this chapter. A bond for a well in existence
on April 18, 1985, shall be payable to the Commonwealth and
conditioned upon the operator's faithful performance of all
water supply replacement, restoration and plugging
requirements of this chapter. The amount of the bond required
shall be in the following amounts and amounts under
subparagraphs (i) and (ii) may be adjusted by the
Environmental Quality Board every two years to reflect the
projected costs to the Commonwealth of plugging the well:
(i) For unconventional wells with a total well bore
length less than 6,000 feet:
(A) For operating up to 50 wells, $4,000 per
well, but no bond may be required under this clause
in excess of $35,000.
(B) For operating 51 to 150 wells, $35,000 plus
$4,000 per well for each well in excess of 50 wells,
but no bond may be required under this clause in
excess of $60,000.
(C) For operating 151 to 250 wells, $60,000 plus
$4,000 per well for each well in excess of 150 wells,
but no bond may be required under this clause in
excess of $100,000.
(D) For operating more than 250 wells, $100,000
20220HB2644PN3187 - 10 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
plus $4,000 per well for each well in excess of 250
wells, but no bond may be required under this clause
in excess of $250,000.
(ii) For unconventional wells with a total well bore
length of at least 6,000 feet:
(A) For operating up to 25 wells, $10,000 per
well, but no bond may be required under this clause
in excess of $140,000.
(B) For operating 26 to 50 wells, $140,000 plus
$10,000 per well for each well in excess of 25 wells,
but no bond may be required under this clause in
excess of $290,000.
(C) For operating 51 to 150 wells, $290,000 plus
$10,000 per well for each well in excess of 50 wells,
but no bond may be required under this clause in
excess of $430,000.
(D) For operating more than 150 wells, $430,000
plus $10,000 per well for each well in excess of 150
wells, but no bond may be required under this clause
in excess of $600,000.
(iii) For a well other than an unconventional well,
$2,500 per well. The Environmental Quality Board shall
have no authority to adjust the amount under this
subparagraph.
(2) [In] The following apply:
(i) Except as provided under subparagraph (ii), in
lieu of individual bonds for each well, an owner or
operator may file a blanket bond for the applicable
amount under paragraph [(1)] (1)(i) or (ii), on a form
prepared by the department, covering all of its wells in
20220HB2644PN3187 - 11 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
this Commonwealth, as enumerated on the bond form.
(ii) As follows:
(A) An operator may file a blanket bond of
$25,000 for all of the operator's wells in this
Commonwealth that are not unconventional wells.
(B) For every new well that is not an
unconventional well drilled after six months after
the effective date of this subsection, the bond
amount for the operator shall increase by $1,000.
(C) The total blanket bond for an operator's
wells that are not unconventional wells shall not
exceed $100,000.
(D) The blanket bond increase of $1,000 shall be
waived by the department for a new well drilled under
this subsection if the operator provides evidence to
the department that the operator has plugged an
orphan well at the operator's own expense for which
the operator was not the responsible party within the
previous 365 days that the operator has not yet
received credit for under this subsection by the
department.
(E) The Environmental Quality Board shall have
no authority to adjust the amounts under this
subparagraph.
(2.1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
section, section 1934-A of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177,
No.175), known as The Administrative Code of 1929, shall
continue to apply to a well drilled prior to April 18, 1985.
* * *
Section 3. Section 3271(c)(1) of Title 58 is amended to
20220HB2644PN3187 - 12 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
read:
§ 3271. Well plugging funds.
* * *
(c) Orphan Well Plugging Fund.--The following shall apply:
(1) A restricted revenue account to be known as the
Orphan Well Plugging Fund is created. A $100 surcharge for
wells to be drilled for oil production and a $200 surcharge
for wells to be drilled for gas production are added to the
permit fee established by the department under section 3211
for new wells. The surcharges and amounts deposited under
section 2811(a)(1) (relating to allocation of funding) shall
be placed in the Orphan Well Plugging Fund and expended by
the department to plug orphan wells. If an operator
rehabilitates a well abandoned by another operator or an
orphan well, the permit fee and the surcharge for the well
shall be waived.
* * *
Section 4. Repeals are as follows:
(1) The General Assembly declares that the repeal under
paragraph (2) is necessary to effectuate the amendment of 58
Pa.C.S. § 3225(a)(1).
(2) Section 1606-E of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343,
No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, is repealed.
Section 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
20220HB2644PN3187 - 13 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24