58 Pa.C.S. Ch. 28

in effect

58 Pa.C.S. § 2801 Scope of chapter.

This chapter relates to oil and gas well plugging oversight.

58 Pa.C.S. § 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).

58 Pa.C.S. § 2811 Requirements for use of Federal funding.

(a) Requirements.--Federal money 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) that is appropriated by the General Assembly shall be subject to the following: (1) (Deleted by amendment). (2) No less than 20% of the amount shall be made available for grants under Subchapter C (relating to Orphan Oil and Gas Well Plugging Grant Program) for a period of no less than 12 months after publication of the notice under section 2823(c) (relating to eligible wells). (3) If any amount made available under paragraph (2) remains uncommitted six months prior to any date of recapture by the Federal Government, the department may use the amount in any other manner in accordance with Federal law and guidance. (b) Records.--The department shall keep records sufficient to document compliance with the requirements imposed under the Federal Orphaned Well Site Plugging, Remediation and Restoration Program and this title. 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 or applicable Federal requirements when awarding grants under Subchapter C. (Nov. 3, 2022, P.L.1987, No.136, eff. 60 days) Cross References. Section 2811 is referred to in section 2825 of this title.

58 Pa.C.S. § 2821 Establishment of program.

The Orphan Oil and Gas Well Plugging Grant Program is established as a program within the department. (Nov. 3, 2022, P.L.1987, No.136, eff. 60 days)

58 Pa.C.S. § 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 subchapter shall be: (1) In the amount of $40,000 for every eligible well plugged that is an orphan well of a depth of 3,000 feet or less or the actual cost of the qualified well plugger to plug the well, whichever is less. (2) In the amount of $70,000 for every eligible well plugged that is an orphan well of a depth greater than 3,000 feet or the actual cost of the qualified well plugger to plug the well, whichever is less. (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. (Nov. 3, 2022, P.L.1987, No.136, eff. 60 days) Cross References. Section 2822 is referred to in section 2825 of this title.

58 Pa.C.S. § 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. (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 date of the periodic awarding of funds pursuant to section 349 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-58, 42 U.S.C. § 15907) or the effective date of an appropriation of money to the department for the purposes of this subchapter, whichever is earlier, 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. (Nov. 3, 2022, P.L.1987, No.136, eff. 60 days) 2022 Amendment. Act 136 amended subsec. (c). Cross References. Section 2823 is referred to in sections 2802, 2811, 2825 of this title.

58 Pa.C.S. § 2824 Qualified well plugger.

(a) Criteria.--A person shall qualify as a qualified well plugger if the person demonstrates access to the equipment, materials, resources and services to plug wells in accordance with section 3220 (relating to plugging requirements). (1) (Deleted by amendment). (2) (Deleted by amendment). (3) (Deleted by amendment). (b) Legal responsibility.--A qualified well plugger shall not be the person who is legally responsible for plugging the orphan well. (c) Effect of continuing violations.-- (1) In order to receive a grant under this subchapter, the applicant, or a parent or subsidiary business entity of the applicant, may not be in continuing violation of this chapter, any other statute administered by the department, a regulation promulgated under this chapter or a statute administered by the department or a plan approval, permit or order of the department, unless the violation is being corrected to the satisfaction of the department. (2) This subsection shall not apply to an applicant who has committed a violation until the department has taken a final action on the violation and: (i) the applicant has not appealed the final action in accordance with the act of July 13, 1988 (P.L.530, No.94), known as the Environmental Hearing Board Act; or (ii) if an appeal has been filed, no supersedeas has been issued. (Nov. 3, 2022, P.L.1987, No.136, eff. 60 days) Cross References. Section 2824 is referred to in section 2802 of this title.

58 Pa.C.S. § 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 the next 12 months 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). (4) An attestation that the qualified well plugger will provide the documentation necessary for the department to comply with the provisions of section 2811(b) (relating to allocation of funding). (5) An attestation that each well plugged by the qualified well plugger will be plugged in accordance with section 3220 (relating to plugging requirements). (c) Acceptance of applications.-- (1) The department shall begin accepting applications under subsection (a) no later than the date that the application is made available under subsection (a). (2) The department shall accept applications until the amount available for grants under section 2811(a) is committed to projects initially approved under subsection (e). As additional amounts are made available for the grant program under this subchapter, the department shall recommence accepting applications under subsection (a) no later than seven days after the additional money is made available. (d) Review.--The department shall review and approve applications received under subsection (c) on a rolling basis until the money available has been fully committed to approved projects. (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 15 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 complete plugging 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. (4) The qualified well plugger has submitted adequate documentation of the cost for the plugging of an orphan well. (5) The qualified well plugger has submitted any other information or document necessary for compliance with the Federal Orphaned Well Site Plugging, Remediation and Restoration Program. (g) Amount of grant.--The amount of the 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, in its discretion, amend the grant award to cover the additional cost, if provided with adequate documentation of those unexpected additional costs. 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. (Nov. 3, 2022, P.L.1987, No.136, eff. 60 days) Cross References. Section 2825 is referred to in sections 2823, 2826 of this title.

58 Pa.C.S. § 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 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.

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=58Fetched: 10/16/2026