A Wyoming court is being asked to rule that the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has been too liberal in giving industry the opportunity to withhold what chemicals are involved in fracking. Laura Veaton of Earth Justice says that of the 52 requests to withhold trade secrets, 50 have been granted. Veaton says some were granted even though some companies did not comply with state requirements.
“For the commission to approve a trade secret, the law requires that a company require detailed support for its claims,” says Veaton. “ Unfortunately the commission has approved almost every trade secret request it has received, regardless of how unsupported or overly broad these trade secret requests are.”
Veaton says they want the court to tell the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission that it needs to follow rules adopted by the state in 2010 and wants the Commission to explain why it’s withholding some information from the public. Veaton says the goal is to protect groundwater during fracking activities.
