Powder River Basin Resource Council v. Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission

The Wyoming Supreme Court reversed and remanded the district court’s decision that chemicals used in fracking are confidential “trade secrets” that do not need to be publicly disclosed. The Court ordered the district court to apply the WPRA, not the APA, as the standard of review, and to use the FOIA definition of “trade secrets.” The Court’s chosen definition will make it more difficult for companies to demonstrate that the chemicals they use should not be disclosed.