# The FRESHER Act of 2021: What You Need to Know

The FRESHER Act tackles a specific environmental problem: pollution from stormwater runoff at oil and gas drilling sites. When it rains on oil and gas operations—including hydraulic fracturing (fracking) sites—water runs off the land carrying pollutants with it. This runoff can contaminate groundwater and drinking water sources. The bill aims to strengthen protections against this type of pollution by removing a loophole that currently exempts certain oil and gas operations from needing permits to discharge this contaminated stormwater.

Currently, under federal water pollution law, companies operating oil and gas wells have been able to avoid getting permits for stormwater runoff in certain situations. The FRESHER Act closes this loophole by eliminating the specific exemption that allows oil and gas operations to discharge stormwater without a permit. This means companies would need to get approval and follow regulations before releasing stormwater from their sites, similar to other industrial operations. The bill also requires the Secretary of the Interior to study areas that might be contaminated by oil and gas stormwater runoff, looking at how polluted the water is, what groundwater resources exist in those areas, and how vulnerable underground water supplies are to contamination.

If passed, this bill would primarily affect oil and gas companies operating in the United States, requiring them to implement better stormwater management practices and obtain permits. For communities living near drilling operations, especially in areas that rely on groundwater for drinking water, this could mean better protection against water contamination. The one-year study requirement would provide the government with better information about where stormwater pollution from oil and gas operations poses the greatest risk to public water supplies.

FRESHER Act of 2021

Cartwright, Matt

Focused Reduction of Effluence and Stormwater runoff through Hydrofracking Environmental Regulation Act of 2021 or the FRESHER Act of 2021 This bill addresses stormwater runoff from mining, oil, or gas operations. Specifically, it eliminates a prohibition on the Environmental Protection Agency from requiring a permit under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System for discharges of certain collected, uncontaminated stormwater runoff from mining operations or oil and gas operations. In addition, the Department of the Interior must study stormwater runoff associated with oil or gas operations, including an analysis of (1) measurable contamination, (2) groundwater resources, and (3) the susceptibility of aquifers to contamination from stormwater runoff associated with the operations.