ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — An environmental group alleged Thursday that a natural gas industry lawyer used “inside information” from New York regulators to try to weaken drilling regulations, but the lawyer said he was granted no special access and the state Department of Environmental Conservation said it was following required procedures to assess the proposed rules’ impact.

The Environmental Working Group released e-mail exchanges obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request. In one, a lawyer representing Chesapeake Energy urged regulators to “reduce or eliminate radionuclide testing” of storm water that could run off drilling sites.