Microsoft Office Outlook - Memo Style - Montana Board of Oil and Gas

The New Rules are insufficient in guaranteeing adequate public disclosure because of “trade secret”
exemptions. See New Rule III, Section 1. As drafted the rules provide a sweeping exemption for industry in
claiming chemical information a “trade secret.” The New Rules are extremely insufficient in that an “owner,
operator, or service contractor” may simply identify a chemical composition as a “trade secret,” and be exempt
from public disclosure. This “self-fulfilling” exemption creates a situation in which industry may simply operate
under the veil of “trade secret” exemptions and be entirely void from public review as to the chemical contents of
the fracking fluid. The New Rules do not even require that industry provide a reasoning or justification for such
an exemption. In effect, this renders the disclosure rules voluntary.
The MBOGC should amend the New Rules to require that all fracking chemical information must be
provided to the MBOGC. In the event that an entity would like to claim a “trade secret” exemption, the New
Rules should be amended to require that the entity submit an application to the MBOGC specifying the
reasons and purpose for the claimed exemption. The MBOGC should be charged with reviewing trade secret
exemptions, and should only grant such exemptions in rare circumstances in which industry has provided strong
reasoning as to the exemption and public health and the environment will not be compromised. In the event an
entity receives a trade secret exemption, all chemical information would still be disclosed to the MBOGC, but
not the public
II. The current New Rules do not mandate advanced notification for landowners with
property adjacent to wells that are proposed to be fracked.
Advanced notice is essential to protecting property owners and water quality. Without advanced notice of
fracking activity, landowners will be hindered or entirely prevented from testing their baseline water quality data.
Adjacent landowners should have the opportunity to test the quality of their water source before any fracking
activity occurs. Without baseline data, it will be difficult for landowners to show whether adjacent fracking
activities have contaminated their water source.
MEIC recommends that the MBOGC amend the New Rules to require that a well operator be required to
notify adjacent landowners (within one mile of the proposed well to be fracked) at least one month in advance.
This will provide adjacent landowners with a reasonable time in which to prepare baseline water quality testing
before fracking occurs.
To conclude, MEIC respectfully requests that the MBOGC revise the current New Rules to include the
above amendments. We believe that these amendments will improve the public’s access to essential information
regarding fracking activities, and will not result in any hardship on industry. We also request that the amended
rules be available for further public comment.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Sincerely,
Derf Johnson
Program Assistant
Montana Environmental Information Center
107 W. Lawrence St., Suite N-6
Helena, MT 59624
(406) 443-2520