§ 23-0313. Public access to records.

1. a. Any records or reports or portions thereof pertaining to the
production, sale, purchase, acquisition, storage or injection of oil and
gas and associated fluids and any records or reports or portions thereof
pertaining to the transportation of oil and gas, and any information
obtained therefrom, shall be for the confidential use of the department
and other departments, agencies and officers of the state for a period
of six months following the period to which such records or reports
apply, unless the person furnishing the records or reports expressly
agrees to their earlier publication or availability to the general
public, except as provided in subdivision five of section five hundred
ninety-five of the real property tax law. Notwithstanding any law to
the contrary, such records shall not be excepted from disclosure to the
public after expiration of such six-month period. Nothing in this
subdivision shall be construed to prevent the use of such records,
reports or information obtained therefrom by any department, agency or
officer of the state government in compiling or publishing analyses or
summaries relating to the general condition of the industry, the economy
or the condition of the natural resources of this state, provided that
such analyses or summaries do not involve the publication of records,
reports or information relating to a single firm or business enterprise.

b. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, records or portions
thereof pertaining to metering or other measuring of brine produced by
solution mining and to each solution mining cavity or group of
interconnected solution mining cavities shall not be released by the
department for publication nor be available to the general public
without consent of the producer.

c. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, applications for permits,
records or portions thereof which pertain to the total depth and
plugging records of wells subject to the oil, gas and solution mining
law shall not be excepted from disclosure to the public.

d. Well logs, well samples, directional surveys and reports on well
drilling and completion, for all wells subject to the oil, gas and
solution mining law, shall be for the confidential use of the department
and other departments, agencies and offices of the state government
until six months after the commencement of actual drilling operations.

(1) The department may extend the six-month period for an additional
six months for a well where drilling operations have been continuous
throughout that period. A written request for the extension by the
person furnishing the records will not be considered unless it is
submitted to the department no more than thirty days before the
expiration of the first six-month period. The department shall act upon
the request within fifteen days after receipt of the written
notification.

(2) The records subject to this paragraph may be excepted from
disclosure after the applicable six-month period pursuant to the
provisions of subdivision two of section eighty-seven of the public
officers law provided, however, that such records cannot be excepted
from disclosure for longer than two years after the commencement of the
applicable six-month period. A written request for the exception by the
person furnishing the records will not be considered unless it is
submitted to the department at least thirty days before the expiration
date of the applicable six-month period. The request for the exception
from disclosure must be sent by certified mail, return receipt
requested, and addressed to the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation, Division of Mineral Resources, Records
Custodian, Albany, New York. Any person may make a request to the
department for disclosure of records pursuant to this subparagraph in
accordance with article six of the public officers law.

2. The records which the department has excepted from disclosure
pursuant to article six of the public officers law on or before the
effective date of this section shall continue to be excepted from
disclosure for one year after the effective date of this section or two
years from the commencement of actual drilling operations, whichever is
later. The person furnishing the records may authorize the release of
these records at any time before the expiration of the applicable
periods. Any person may make a request to the department for disclosure
of records pursuant to this subdivision in accordance with article six
of the public officers law.