The lack of systematic federal rules to monitor the disclosure of chemicals used in fracking, the process of stimulating oil and gas production through hydraulic fracturing, has led many state regulatory agencies to take responsibility for implementing disclosure rules. On January 1, 2014, California passed the most extensive fracking law in the country, by enhancing obligations to disseminate information and requiring permits to be obtained for any activity to stimulate oil and gas production whether by fracking or other means.
According to the regulations, permit applications for well activity have detailed requirements. They must include the location and time of the planned activity, comprehensive disclosure of the process, and a proposal for checking the safety of affected groundwater. The oil and gas division website provides public notice of planned well activities. In addition, the law requires adjacent property owners to be notified within 30 days of the activity.
Once the operation has been completed, the company is allotted 60 days to provide information on FracFocus.org about the source and amount of water and the types of chemicals used in the process. In addition, the driller must perform tests on the wastewater and disclose any chemicals that are found therein. The information resulting from the fracking operation must be publicly available in a document called the Well Stimulation Public Disclosure Report.
As of July 1, 2015, the law requires companies to disclose the composition of the chemicals used in their fracking operations. To circumvent this requirement, companies may declare “trade secret” protection under the statute. Nevertheless, in California, companies claiming that their fluid formulas qualify as “trade secrets” must still disclose the chemicals used in the fracking operation to state agencies and make such information available to the public.
Contact Shane Coons at 949-333-0900 or visit his website at www.ShaneCoonsLaw.com to find out more about his practice.