DON'T CELEBRATE YET! NO FULL DISCLOSURE ON B-19! Sneaky last minute changes!

Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission really was able to maneuver a dissembling two-step last week to garner positive press exposure.  Headlines everywhere touted Arkansas leading the way on fracturing chemcial disclosure.  The truth is this rule was disembowled at the last minute.  Up to the day of the meeting the AOGC had a mark-up of the rule on their website that included  fairly progressive language which would have required disclosure of the chemicals, but not their quantities.  This would have been a step in the right direction.  Instead, at the last minute, the key language regarding the disclosure was removed and replaced by this language

"the person performing the Hydraulic Fracturing Treatment shall (i)submit to the Director a claim of entitlement to have the identity of such Chemical Constituent withheld as a trade secret, and (ii) to provide the Director with the Chemical Family associated with such Chemical Constituent.  The identity of any Chemical Constituent that qualifies as a trade secret under the criteria set forth in subsection (a)(2) of 42 C.F.R.11042 shall be held confidential by the Director"

The translation of the above is:  They can keep the individual chemicals a SECRET and they only have to tell Larry Bengal the family of chemicals, but SORRY... the public can't even know the family!  What a bunch of bunk.  The point is this:  people have water that has been contaminated and they can't afford to test because they don't know what to test for.  This is a sorry state of affairs for Arkansas.  The drastically changed markup they issued at the meeting was not posted on the website for landowners to study.  It was passed out at the meeting.   I hope the news media will read the two mark-ups and see the hoax that was played out at the AOGC last week.  Original AOGC mark-up online from 9/28/10 to 12/9/10.  Final mark-up unveiled at the meeting in Little Rock of the meeting Tuesday, December 7th and this was not available online till the morning of 12/10/10.  Please compare.

All the revisions that were accepted were industry revisions; the revisions suggested by landowners were simply ignored.   The majority of the AOGC board has gas and oil interests.  This must be restructured because we are careening down a steep slope toward the utter destruction of our aquifers without anyone caring.  Let's not let them vote without hearing our voices.  They are accountable to the people of Arkansas.
Write Larry Bengal  Larry.Bengal@aogc.state.ar.us