New Mexico wrestles with cleanup costs at oil wells

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico State Land Office says a Texas-based oil company will be denied access to well sites until it agrees to the agency's directions for cleaning up spills of oily salt water. State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn announced Friday that it would deny site access to Siana Operating of Midland, Texas, until the company agrees to a preliminary cleanup plan that will determine the extent of ground pollution at well sites in southeastern New Mexico. The State Land Office is locked in litigation with Siana on accusations the company trespassed and spilled waste on state trust lands where it stopped making lease payments years ago. Dunn says Siana reached a cleanup agreement with the state Oil Conservation Division that does not address the possibility of groundwater contamination.