1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Orphan Well Grant Flexibility Act of 2023 . 2. Pre-plugging methane emissions for grant eligibility Section 349 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ( 42 U.S.C. 15907 ) is amended— (1) in subsection (c)(2), by adding at the end the following: (C) Activities not required Nothing in this section requires a State to measure methane emissions or conduct other activities described in subparagraph (A), which are activities a State may conduct but is not required to conduct, as a condition of eligibility for a grant under this subsection. ; and (2) in subsection (f)(2), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting , which may include estimates derived from pre-plugging or post-plugging monitoring data that States may, but are not required to, collect using funding from grants awarded under this section, after estimate . 3. National Academies study on community impact of orphaned well grant program (a) Study Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall— (1) seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine under which the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine shall carry out a study on the effect of the plugging and remediation activity conducted under section 349 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ( 42 U.S.C. 15907 ) on economic development, housing trends, and other potential benefits (such as improvements in water quality) in areas where the plugging and remediation activity conducted under that section reclaimed a high number of sites, as determined by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine