Mississippi House Bill HB1290

Mississippi 2023 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/16/23
• Refer: 1/16/23
• Failed: 1/31/23

Caption

Orphaned Well Cryptocurrency Mining Partnership Program; create.

Impact

The bill mandates that the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality will oversee the program, develop certain definitions, and maintain a special fund to finance the partnership program. This fund will be populated with federal money, donations, and other sources. Importantly, costs associated with the remediation of these wells are capped, ensuring fiscal responsibility and limiting financial liabilities for participants to three times the initial estimates unless certain conditions regarding cost overruns are met.

Summary

House Bill 1290 establishes the Orphaned Well Cryptocurrency Mining Partnership Program, which permits cryptocurrency miners to take responsibility for the cleanup and reclamation of orphaned oil and gas wells in exchange for temporary control of the energy produced from these wells. This bill aims to address the environmental issue posed by uncapped orphaned wells, which can emit harmful gases, while also providing a potential economic benefit through the use of cryptocurrency mining—a process that secures the integrity of the cryptocurrency network using energy resources.

Contention

Noteworthy points of contention include concerns regarding the environmental responsibility of cryptocurrency miners and whether they can ensure the effective and safe remediation of orphaned wells. The bill requires miners to update their progress annually, but critics may argue about the feasibility and reliability of such private enterprises in environmental cleanup efforts. The capacity of the bill to generate both economic activity through cryptocurrency and tackle environmental remediation simultaneously presents a complex intersection of business interests and state regulatory responsibilities.