§ 23-0313 — Public access to records

§ 23-0313. Public access to records.\n 1. a. Any records or reports or portions thereof pertaining to the\nproduction, sale, purchase, acquisition, storage or injection of oil and\ngas and associated fluids and any records or reports or portions thereof\npertaining to the transportation of oil and gas, and any information\nobtained therefrom, shall be for the confidential use of the department\nand other departments, agencies and officers of the state for a period\nof six months following the period to which such records or reports\napply, unless the person furnishing the records or reports expressly\nagrees to their earlier publication or availability to the general\npublic, except as provided in subdivision five of section five hundred\nninety-five of the real property tax law. Notwithstanding any law to\nthe contrary, such records shall not be excepted from disclosure to the\npublic after expiration of such six-month period. Nothing in this\nsubdivision shall be construed to prevent the use of such records,\nreports or information obtained therefrom by any department, agency or\nofficer of the state government in compiling or publishing analyses or\nsummaries relating to the general condition of the industry, the economy\nor the condition of the natural resources of this state, provided that\nsuch analyses or summaries do not involve the publication of records,\nreports or information relating to a single firm or business enterprise.\n b. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, records or portions\nthereof pertaining to metering or other measuring of brine produced by\nsolution mining and to each solution mining cavity or group of\ninterconnected solution mining cavities shall not be released by the\ndepartment for publication nor be available to the general public\nwithout consent of the producer.\n c. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, applications for permits,\nrecords or portions thereof which pertain to the total depth and\nplugging records of wells subject to the oil, gas and solution mining\nlaw shall not be excepted from disclosure to the public.\n d. Well logs, well samples, directional surveys and reports on well\ndrilling and completion, for all wells subject to the oil, gas and\nsolution mining law, shall be for the confidential use of the department\nand other departments, agencies and offices of the state government\nuntil six months after the commencement of actual drilling operations.\n (1) The department may extend the six-month period for an additional\nsix months for a well where drilling operations have been continuous\nthroughout that period. A written request for the extension by the\nperson furnishing the records will not be considered unless it is\nsubmitted to the department no more than thirty days before the\nexpiration of the first six-month period. The department shall act upon\nthe request within fifteen days after receipt of the written\nnotification.\n (2) The records subject to this paragraph may be excepted from\ndisclosure after the applicable six-month period pursuant to the\nprovisions of subdivision two of section eighty-seven of the public\nofficers law provided, however, that such records cannot be excepted\nfrom disclosure for longer than two years after the commencement of the\napplicable six-month period. A written request for the exception by the\nperson furnishing the records will not be considered unless it is\nsubmitted to the department at least thirty days before the expiration\ndate of the applicable six-month period. The request for the exception\nfrom disclosure must be sent by certified mail, return receipt\nrequested, and addressed to the New York State Department of\nEnvironmental Conservation, Division of Mineral Resources, Records\nCustodian, Albany, New York. Any person may make a request to the\ndepartment for disclosure of records pursuant to this subparagraph in\naccordance with article six of the public officers law.\n 2. The records which the department has excepted from disclosure\npursuant to article six of the public officers law on or before the\neffective date of this section shall continue to be excepted from\ndisclosure for one year after the effective date of this section or two\nyears from the commencement of actual drilling operations, whichever is\nlater. The person furnishing the records may authorize the release of\nthese records at any time before the expiration of the applicable\nperiods. Any person may make a request to the department for disclosure\nof records pursuant to this subdivision in accordance with article six\nof the public officers law.\n