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Impact Levels of Statutes and Regulations on Both Existing
or New Oil, Gas, and Potash Mining Operations
The levels of impact of statutes and regulations on existing or new oil, gas, and
potash mining operations are presented in Tables 1 and 2, respectively. Impacts are
deLiled as factors (e.g. labor, cost, delays) that place restrictions on these operations.
Because the impacts are perceived impacts based on information obtained from oil, gas,
and potash operators, comparing the level-of-impact information in one table with the
other table is not valid.
Existing oil and gas operations include activities associated wi: producing from
identified pay zones in existing wells and extending or re-completing previously drilled
boreholes to develop different pay zones. New oil and gas operations include activities
associated with the drilling, completion, and production from new boreholes, as well as
activities associated with existing oil and gas operations (e.g. road construction, site
preparation, construction of mud pits).
As shown in Table 1, the levels of impact for both existing and new oil and gas
operations were generally perceived to be high to medium. The information in Table 1
was prOVided by Chuck Moran, Landman; Randy Patterson, Land Manager; and Frank
Yates, Vice President; of Yates Petroleum Inc. in Artesia, New Mexico. Yates Petroleum
Company was selected for this input because it is a large independent oil and gas
company with operations near the WIPP Site and is considered to be one of the operators
that is most affected by the above-mentioned statu:cS and regulations.
Existing potash operations include continued production from existing mine
tunnels (drifts), the horizontal extension of drifts to access new production areas, and the
construction of new verdation shafts for existing drifts. New potash operations include
activities associated WilL, the start-up of a new mine (e.g. construction of new entry and
ventilation shafts and construction of beneficiation and processing facilities), as well as
the activities associated with existing potash mine operations.
As shown in Table 2, the levels of impact for existing potash mines were generally
perceived to be lov. ;::or new potash mines, the levels of impact were generally
perceived to be low to medium, even though the permitting effort would be considerable.
The levels of impact were presented for new potash operations, even though it is unlikely
that new mining operations would ever be economically feasible near the WIPP Site. The
available ad around the WIPP site has been leased by companies that are positioned to
access new areas by extending drifts from existing nearby mines. Due to high start-up
costs the expansion of existing operations would be more cost-effective than the start-up
of a new mine.
The information in Table 2 was provided by Scott Vail, the manager of safety and
environmental services at IMC Fertilizer Inc., a potash operator near the WIPP Site.
IMC was selected fo· tiIis input because it is the largest potash operator near the WlPP
Site and is considerea to be one of the operators that is most affected by the abovementioned
statutes and regulations.
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