(a) The commission may act upon its own motion, or upon the petition of an interested person. On the filing of a petition concerning a matter within the jurisdiction of the commission under this chapter, the commission shall promptly fix a date for a hearing, and shall cause notice of the hearing to be given. The hearing shall be held without undue delay after the filing of the petition. The commission shall enter its order within 30 days after the hearing.

(b) Except as provided in this subsection, any action by the commission under this chapter that has statewide or general application shall be performed in accordance with AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act). Any action by the commission under this chapter that has application to a single well or single field need not comply with the provisions of AS 44.62.330 - 44.62.630, but shall be performed in accordance with regulations of the commission designed to afford persons affected by the action notice and an opportunity to be heard.

(c) Notwithstanding the requirements of (a) and (b) of this section that relate to fixing a date for a hearing and causing notice of the hearing to be given, for an action under this chapter that involves the exploration for or development of nonconventional gas and that has application to a single well or a single field, upon the request of a lessee or operator, the commission may, where operations might be unduly delayed, approve a variance from the commission's regulations that apply to the well or field without providing notice and opportunity to be heard. In the exercise of its authority to issue the variance,

(1) the commission may approve the variance if

(A) the approval provides at least an equally effective means of accomplishing the requirement set out in the commission's regulation; or

(B) the commission determines that the request is more appropriate to the proposed operation than compliance with the requirement of the regulation; and

(2) the terms of the approval of the variance may include exempting the lessee or operator from a requirement of a regulation if the commission determines that the requirement is not necessary or not suited to the well or field taking into consideration

(A) the nature of the operation involved;

(B) the characteristics of the well or field for which the variance is sought; and

(C) the reasonably anticipated risks of the exemption from the requirement to human safety and the environment.

(d) The provisions of (c) of this section do not apply to authorize approval of a variance from the commission's regulations that relate to underground injection.