# 119-hr-10721: Stop Orphaned Wells Act

119-hr-10721, Stop Orphaned Wells Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Ansari, Yassamin [D-AZ-3] (D-AZ); status introduced (as of 2026-10-16).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10721
- As of: 2026-10-16
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-10721
- Congress: 119
- Title: Stop Orphaned Wells Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-10-05
- Sponsor: Rep. Ansari, Yassamin [D-AZ-3] (D-AZ)
- Cosponsors: 6
- Policy area: Energy
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-16

## Summary

**Hold operators financially responsible for cleanup.** This bill replaces blanket bonds with project- and operator-specific financial assurances, raises minimum bonding, and adds fitness-to-operate and strict transfer controls to reduce orphaned wells and taxpayer liability. - Operators and lessees face tougher bonding and oversight. They must post project- or operator-specific assurances with minimums of $200,000 per surface‑disturbing activity or $650,000 per operator within a State, and the Secretary can raise amounts based on risk. - Communities and the environment gain stronger protections and tracking. The bill targets at least 140,000 documented orphaned well sites and requires public inventories, reporting, and tighter rules to cut risks from the more than 15,000 wells BLM estimates on Federal land. - Transfers, buyers, and investors meet stricter tests before taking on leases. Transfers need Secretary approval, fitness certification, financial disclosures, and can be denied for bankruptcy, lack of an investment‑grade rating, or poor debt ratios. *Authorizes $30.0 million annually for FY2028–2032 to carry out disclosure and enforcement provisions.*

## Cosponsors (6)

- Rep. Huffman, Jared [D-CA-2] (D-CA), 2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Grijalva, Adelita S. [D-AZ-7] (D-AZ), 2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Min, Dave [D-CA-47] (D-CA), 2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Simon, Lateefah [D-CA-12] (D-CA), 2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Brownley, Julia [D-CA-26] (D-CA), 2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2] (D-CO), 2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Public reports and funding for oversight: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Secretary would report to Congress within one year after issuing fitness rules and then annually. Reports would list persons holding active or inactive Federal oil and gas authorizations who failed to meet standards, identify which standards were missed for each authorization, and d…
- New operator fitness certification: cost, high. If enacted, the Secretary would bar issuing, extending, or approving transfers of Federal oil or gas leases, permits, or rights to a party unless that party is certified as fit to operate. Certification would check past safety and environmental compliance, financial solvency, and capacity to pay de…
- Tighter rules for inactive wells: mixed, medium. If enacted, the Secretary would issue rules to reduce idled, temporarily abandoned, and shut-in Federal wells. Operators would need approval to keep a well temporarily abandoned for over 30 days and would get one-year designations that can be renewed. Within 4 years after temporary abandonment, ope…
- Higher bonds and bonding triggers: mixed, medium. If enacted, operators would need stronger financial assurance before starting surface-disturbing activities on Federal leases. Minimums would be $200,000 per such activity on an individual lease and $650,000 for all an operator’s leases in a State. Nationwide blanket bonds would be phased out and m…
- Stricter lease transfers and liability rules: mixed, medium. If enacted, a leaseholder could not transfer a covered Federal lease without prior Secretary approval. Transfer applications would need detailed financial risk assessments, inventories of leases and wells, and enforcement histories. The Secretary would post proposed transfers and allow at least 30…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-10721 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/10721)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-20)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10721 (as of 2026-10-16).