MS HB1290

Creates the Orphaned Well Cryptocurrency Mining Partnership Program within the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, allowing cryptocurrency miners to assume liability for plugging, remediating, or reclaiming orphaned wells in exchange for temporary control of energy from the wells.

Establishes the Orphaned Well Cryptocurrency Mining Partnership Program Fund to be funded by federal grants from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Inflation Reduction Act, legislative appropriations, and other sources.

Requires the department to maintain a publicly accessible website documenting all known orphaned wells with information including methane production estimates, location, abandonment duration, remediation costs, well integrity, and operator history, then solicit competitive bids from cryptocurrency miners.

Caps remediation costs at three times the initial department estimate unless the winning bidder caused additional costs, with any costs exceeding the cap paid by the fund; allows miners to pay obligations to the fund in cryptocurrency and exempts such payments from state income tax.

Permits winning bidders 60 days for due diligence, after which they must decide whether to assume liability; allows miners to take legal ownership of wells after the agreed mining period ends, effective July 1, 2023.