Justin Hayes of the Idaho Conservation League told state officials, "What we don't want is to have a problem develop because it wasn't being closely regulated, because, as we've heard time and time again, you can't clean up an aquifer once you've fouled it up." When it comes to something like injecting fluids deep into the ground through "fracking" as part of gas well drilling, Hayes said, "Good fences make good neighbors." Idaho's temporary rules on fracking should contain those "fences," he said.

"The goal here is not to stop people from trying to do things. The goal is to give them certainty so they know what is an option for them to do responsibly," Hayes said.

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden then quizzed Bridge Energy officials about Hayes' proposed amendments to the rule. Kim Parsons, exploration manager for Bridge Energy, said her company wouldn't know what was allowed or not under the limits on fracking compounds Hayes proposed, and couldn't define what is "carcinogenic," "teratogenic" or "mutagenic." She also said, in response to a question from Wasden, that her firm plans only vertical drilling, not horizontal.