Oil and gas spills also threaten the park's resources. The park lacks the funding to develop a contingency plan for dealing with such spills. One oil spill has already occurred adjacent to the park boundary, causing damage to vegetation and wildlife as well as potential contamination of scarce water resources. The park must be prepared for spills of hazardous materials within the park because a through road bisects it. In addition to the threats from mineral development, low aircraft overflights are increasing in the park.
Aircraft noise is damaging prehistoric structures and compromising visitor experience.
The park has developed a monitoring system and shares the data gathered with the Federal Aviation Administration, but to date that agency has taken only minimal enforcement actions. Development of Navajo Reservation Land. As a result of the consolidation of its land holdings, the Navajo Nation now owns much of the land surrounding Chaco Park. Because of the Nation's sovereign status, no formal process exists to review and mitigate potential harm to park resources from development of the Navajo lands. While a prison has been proposed to be built just fifteen miles south of the park, since it is on Navajo land the opportunities for public comment and the assessment of environmental impacts guaranteed under state and federal law do not apply.