U.S. Congress legislation · 119th Congress
HB10721: Stop Orphaned Wells Act
Status: In committee, October 5, 2026
To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to ensure sufficient bonding and complete and timely reclamation of land and water disturbed by Federal and Indian oil and gas production, and for other purposes.
What the bill says
To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to ensure sufficient bonding and complete and timely reclamation of land and water disturbed by Federal and Indian oil and gas production, and for other purposes.
From the introduced text, October 5, 2026:
A BILL To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to ensure sufficient bonding and complete and timely reclamation of land and water disturbed by Federal and Indian oil and gas production, and for other purposes. SECTION 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Stop Orphaned Wells Act . SECTION 2. 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 …
Sponsors
- Yassamin Ansari (D, HD-003) · primary sponsor
- Jared Huffman (D, HD-CA-2)
- Adelita Grijalva (D, HD-007)
- Dave Min (D)
- Lateefah Simon (D)
- Julia Brownley (D, HD-CA-26)
- Joseph Neguse (D, HD-CO-2)
Latest actions
- : Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
- : Introduced in House
Subjects: Energy
Common questions
- What is HB10721?
- HB10721 is a bill in Congress (119th Congress): Stop Orphaned Wells Act.
- What does HB10721 do?
- In its own words: To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to ensure sufficient bonding and complete and timely reclamation of land and water disturbed by Federal and Indian oil and gas production, and for other purposes.
- What is the status of HB10721?
- In committee as of October 5, 2026. Latest action: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. (October 5, 2026).
- Who sponsored HB10721?
- Yassamin Ansari (D, HD-003), with 6 co-sponsors.
- Where is the official record for HB10721?
- On the Congress website: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/10721
Source: official Congress record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.