DOE 2000. - Waste Isolation Pilot Plant - U.S. Department of Energy

WIPP RH PSAR DOE/WIPP-03-3174 CHAPTER 2
2.2 Nearby Industrial, Transportation and Military Facilities
The extractive activities, transportation routes, and military operations that may have a potential affect on
operations at the WIPP facility are discussed in this section.
2.2.1 Industrial and Commercial Facilities
There are numerous oil and gas related facilities within a 5 mi (8 km) radius of the WIPP facility. The 5
mi (8 km) radius encompasses grazing allotments of three separate ranches; however, only one ranch
house is located in the area. It is about 3.5 mi (5.6 km) from the center of the WIPP facility in the south
southwest sector. There are four potash mines and two chemical processing plants (adjacent to the
mines) between 5 and 10 mi (8.0 and 16.1 km) of the WIPP facility.
2.2.2 Extractive Activities
Within a 5 mi (8 km) radius from the center of the WIPP Land Withdrawal Area (LWA), both oil and gas
are extracted below the Salado formation. The majority of the newer wells produce oil and gas from the
Brushy Canyon formation of the Delaware Mountain Group. Gas wells typically produce from the
deeper Pennsylvanian-age formations (Atoka, Strawn, and Morrow formations). As of April 1995, there
were 136 oil wells (some which produce both oil and gas), 21 gas wells, and 21 plugged wells within 5
mi (8 km) of the Land Withdrawal Act (LWA) boundary (Figure 2.2-2a). The completion of these wells
is stratigraphically below the repository horizon. There are likewise an additional 292 oil wells, 47 gas
wells, and 83 plugged wells within 10 mi (16.1 km) of the LWA boundary (Figure 2.2-1). The plugged
wells include both wells that are considered "dry holes" and wells that are no longer productive and have
been permanently sealed.
Besides the oil and gas extractive activities, there are four active potash mines within 10 mi (16.1 km) of
the WIPP LWA. Potash is extracted from the McNutt Potash member which is stratigraphically above
the WIPP repository horizon.
2.2.3 Oil and Gas Pipelines
There are no crude oil pipelines within 5 mi (8 km) of the WIPP facility. There are, however, sixteen
natural gas pipelines located within a 5 mi (8 km) radius of the WIPP facility. Many producing wells
within the 10 mi (16.1 km) radius of the WIPP are connected to tank batteries by gathering systems of
flexible, plastic tubing. These lines are typically buried at the time of installation; however, there are
areas where these lines rest upon the surface of the ground. They carry a mixture of crude oil, natural
gas, and produced waters. At the accumulation tanks, these fluids are separated, and the gas is then fed
into pipelines. Thirteen of these pipelines have right-of-way lease permits issued by the U.S. Department
of the Interior (DOI), BLM for access to federal land, while four have permits issued by the State of New
Mexico, State Land Office, for access to state lands. Two pipelines require both federal and state
right-of-way lease permits. There is one pipeline located on federal land for which no right-of-way lease
permit information is available. The natural gas pipelines are owned and operated by three companies:
Ä El Paso Natural Gas Company, El Paso, Texas;
Ä Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, Chicago, Illinois;
Ä Transwestern Pipeline Company, Roswell, New Mexico
Figure 2.2-2a shows the location of each pipeline within 5 mi (8 km) of the WIPP facility, along with
pertinent information regarding each pipeline.
2.2-1 January 24, 2003