DENVER State energy regulators meet Monday to adopt new rules for public disclosure of hydraulic fracturing fluids.
But critics say the proposed rule has an exception big enough to pump a million gallons of frack fluid through.
As it has throughout the years-long controversy over hydraulic fracturing, this weeks debate revolves around trade secret chemicals.
Current law does not require companies to reveal the makeup of the chemicals they pump into gas wells to break up underground rock formations and free the gas trapped inside.
This summer, Gov. John Hickenlooper urged the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to adopt a rule that requires public disclosure of frack fluids.
Hickenlooper has said he does not believe claims that fracking risks the pollution of groundwater, but more public disclosure will help the gas industry convince others that fracking is safe.
The COGCC already requires companies to disclose the content of their fluids to doctors and state regulators in emergencies. The new rule would require companies to post their fluids on the Frac Focus website (www.fracfocus.org).
But the proposed rule also lets companies claim an exemption for trade secrets.
Regulators would not have to approve trade-secret exemptions, and that has stirred the ire of environmentalists.
It certainly doesnt fit the standard that was set by the governor in terms of increasing accountability for the industry, said Josh Joswick of the San Juan Citizens Alliance.
But industry groups like the Colorado Oil and Gas Association say the exemption is necessary to keep Colorado drillers competitive in an era when gas companies have an increasing array of choices for places to drill.
In considering the issue of trade secret protection, the Commission .... should keep in mind the law of unintended consequences, wrote Ken Wonstolen, a lawyer for COGA, in a statement to the COGCC. For example, if valuable trade secret rights of companies doing business in Colorado are not adequately protected, then the most effective and valuable HF fluid technology may not be made available to Colorado operators.
The hearing in Denver is expected to take much of the day Monday, with public testimony in the morning.
Reach joeh@cortezjournal.com.