Wyoming Fracking Trade-Secret Justification Required Under Deal

A legal settlement will require petroleum companies to provide justification when they ask Wyoming regulators to withhold from the public details about the chemicals they pump underground.

Last year, the Wyoming Supreme Court sided with a group and against Wyoming regulators in a lawsuit that sought public disclosure of the ingredients in those fracking products. A settlement requires detailed justification when companies claim the ingredients are trade secrets.

At issue are chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, the process of pumping water mixed with sand and chemicals into wells to get oil and gas deposits.