The group alleges that Fox is refusing to comply with public records law by not releasing the documents that the group requested to find out why Fox joined the attorneys generals from Alabama, Alaska and Oklahoma in sending a letter to the U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell raising objections and concerns to proposed federal rules for regulating hydraulic fracturing.
Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a technique of pumping pressurized water into oil fields and shale to fracture open deposits. Many environmentalists are opposed to fracking.
Jim Jensen, MEIC's executive director told the media, "This lawsuit is simply about the attorney general of Montana refusing to comply with the public records act and the Montana constitutional right to know, plain and simple." He said, "We asked for documents and they refused to give a full disclosure. What is the attorney general hiding?"
The Interior Secretary, Sally Jewell had said that standards need to be established concerning fracking and the proposed federal rules were intended to reconcile the patchwork of state fracking rules now being used. This would have compelled companies engaged in fracking to be more transparent and disclose the chemical ingredients in fracking fluids.
But the objection of the attorneys general has delayed the process, and the MEIC wants the answers as far as the actions of Montana's attorney general is concerned. The complaint stated, "When the attorney general of the state of Montana took a broad policy position on a controversial environmental matter on behalf of the state of Montana, there can be, and is no, individual privacy interest at state in documents generated by, or sent to the attorney general."
