Mealey's (July 2, 2015, 6:25 AM EDT) -- WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) on June 12 introduced legislation which he says will remove loopholes in the Clean Water Act (CWA) that exempt oil and gas companies involved in hydraulic fracturing.

(Legislation available. Document #94-150707-001L.)

Act

The FRESHER Act, which stands for Focused Reduction of Effluence and Stormwater runoff through Hydrofracking Environmental Regulation, would remove amendments that were made to the CWA in 1987 and 2005 which created exemptions for companies seeking permits for oil and gas exploration projects, Sen. Cardin said...