Section 20.25.537. Public and confidential information.

	(a)  The commission will routinely make available to the public, by means of records or reports, in its offices or elsewhere, or by means of regular publication, the following information:  
		(1) surface and proposed bottom-hole locations of each well after approval of the Permit to Drill (Form 10-401);  
		(2) total depth, bottom-hole location and well status after the Well Completion or Recompletion Report and Log (Form 10-407) is filed;  
		(3) regular production data and regular production reports, as required to be filed by the operator each month;  
		(4) injection data and injection reports, as required to be filed by the operator each month; and  
		(5) all data filed on a well as required by this chapter upon expiration of the confidential period described in (d) of this section.  
	(b)  Engineering, geologic, geophysical, and other commercial information not required by this chapter, but voluntarily filed with the commission will be kept confidential if the person filing the information so requests. This subsection does not apply to information submitted in a public hearing under 20 AAC 25.540.  
	(c)  In this section, "well status" means the classification of a well as oil, gas, service, suspended, shut-in, or abandoned.  
	(d)  Except as provided by (a) of this section, the reports and information required by this chapter to be filed by the operator will be kept confidential by the commission for 24 months following the 30-day filing period after well completion, suspension, or abandonment unless the operator gives written and unrestricted permission to release all of the reports and information at an earlier date. Upon notification that the commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources has made a finding that the required reports and information from a well contain significant information relating to the valuation of unleased land in the same vicinity, the commission will hold the reports and information confidential beyond the 24-month period and until notified by the commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources to release the reports and information.  
	(e)  Notwithstanding (b) or (d) of this section, any information obtained or used by the commission in the administration of its program under 42 U.S.C. 300h-4 (Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 300f - 300j)  
		(1) will be made available to the public unless the material has been claimed confidential and has been determined by the commission to be entitled to confidential treatment; claims of confidentiality will be denied for the following:  
			(A) the name and address of any applicant for underground injection of fluids, and  
			(B) information that deals with the existence, absence, or level of contaminants in freshwater;  
		(2) will be made available to the United States Environmental Protection Agency upon request; if the information has been submitted to the commission under claim of confidentiality, the commission will submit that claim to the United States Environmental Protection Agency when providing the information.  

Authorities

31.05.030;31.05.035

Notes

Authority

AS 31.05.030 AS 31.05.035

History

Eff. 4/13/80, Register 74; am 4/2/86, Register 97; am 11/7/99, Register 152