Bill · S. 4239· Senate(119-S-4239)
Plug Offshore Wells Act
- Introduced
- 3/26/2026
- Last activity
- 7/15/2026 — Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held.
- Sponsored by
- Peter Welch
- Cosponsors
- - 3 - 0
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill, known as the "Plug Offshore Wells Act," requires the Secretary of the Interior to provide annual updates regarding offshore oil and gas infrastructure. The Secretary must submit a report to Congress and publish it on a Department of the Interior website. The report must detail applications for decommissioning wells, platforms, and pipelines. It also tracks instances where decommissioning did not occur by the required date. Additionally, the report must include details on pipelines decommissioned in place or removed. Finally, it must document the status of enforcement actions taken by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.
Yes· 3 of 4
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?+5
The bill mandates public disclosure of offshore decommissioning and enforcement data.
Does this better protect air, water and wildlife?+3
The bill enhances environmental oversight by tracking the decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure.
Does this better protect public land such as parks and forests?+3
It improves the management of offshore resources through required transparency on infrastructure decommissioning.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Increased Transparency: The bill requires the Secretary to make reports publicly available on a website, which allows the public to see what is happening with offshore decommissioning (Section 2(b)).
-
Accountability for Unfinished Work: By requiring reports on the number of wells, platforms, and pipelines where decommissioning did not occur by the required date, the bill tracks whether companies are following through on their obligations (Section 2(b)(3)).
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Oversight of Enforcement: The report must include the status of enforcement actions, such as civil penalties, citations, and disqualifications, which provides information on how the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement is handling noncompliance (Section 2(b)(6)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No specific negative impacts or burdens are explicitly stated in the provided text.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Improves Environmental Protections+3Improves Public Land Management+3
- Governance And Ideology
- Improves Government Transparency+5Increases Federal Power+1
- 7/15/2026
- Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held.
- 3/26/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
- 3 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Edward MarkeyDemocrat · Massachusetts
Jeff MerkleyDemocrat · Oregon
Ron WydenDemocrat · Oregon