This bill has advanced since we wrote our summary.
Current stage on Congress.gov: Introduced in House.
Oil and gas drilling sites currently qualify for an exemption that lets them avoid getting stormwater discharge permits (government approvals required for runoff that flows into waterways) under the Clean Water Act. The FRESHER Act of 2025 would remove that exemption, meaning oil and gas operations would be required to manage and control their stormwater runoff the same way other industrial sites do. The bill also directs the Secretary of the Interior to study areas potentially contaminated by stormwater runoff from oil and gas operations, including testing groundwater resources and analyzing how vulnerable underground water supplies are to contamination. A report to Congress would be due within one year.
Congressional Summary
Focused Reduction of Effluence and Stormwater runoff through Hydrofracking Environmental Regulation Act of 2025 or the FRESHER Act of 2025This 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.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-11-18
- Date Added
- 2026-04-10
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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