Montana regulators eye new rules on 'fracking'

BOZEMAN — Montana regulators are proposing a rule to require oil and gas companies to disclose what chemicals are being pumped into the ground as a way to extract natural gas and oil in a process called hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking."

But the proposed rule is already under attack because of an exception that allows companies to withhold information if it reveals trade secrets. Environmentalists contend that fracking contaminates the soil and ground and surface waters

Tom Richmond, administrator for the Montana Board of Oil and Gas, said the board wants companies to post the chemicals with...