New Mexico Administrative Code

Unless specified by the commission or hearing officer, an audio recording and index shall be made of the hearing. If the hearing officer allows verbatim stenographic transcripts, the petitioner shall bear the cost of the original verbatim transcript of the proceeding and of provi…

The hearing officer may allow the record to remain open for a reasonable time following the hearing's conclusion for written submission of additional evidence, comments and arguments and proposed statements of reasons. The hearing officer's determination shall be announced at the…

If the commission directs, the hearing officer shall file a report of the hearing. The report shall identify the issues addressed at the hearing, identify the parties' final proposals and the evidence supporting those proposals, including discussion or recommendations as requeste…

A. If a quorum of the commission attended at the hearing, and if the hearing notice indicated that a decision might be made at the hearing's conclusion, the commission may immediately deliberate and decide on the proposed rule. B. If the commission does not reach a decision at th…

19.10.15 NMAC is adopted pursuant to the New Mexico Mining Act, Sections 69-36-1 to 69-36-20 NMSA 1978 (1993, as amended), and the State Rules Act, Section 14-4-5.8 NMSA 1978 (2017).

The commission administrator shall provide notice of the commission's action in accordance with the State Rules Act.

A. Appeal of any rule change by the commission shall be taken in accordance with governing law. B. The appellant shall serve a copy of the notice of appeal on the commission and on each party. C. The appellant shall be responsible for preparation of a sufficient number of copies …

Permanent.

March 27, 2018, unless a later date is cited at the end of a section.

The objectives of 19.10.15 NMAC are: A. to establish procedures used in rulemaking proceedings before the commission; B. to encourage the participation in the hearings the commission conducts for the promulgation of rules; C. to make possible the effective presentation of the evi…

See Section 69-36-3 NMSA 1978 and 19.10.1.7 NMAC for definitions. See also Section 14-4-2 NMSA 1978 (2017) for the definitions of "proceeding", "proposed rule" and "rule".

19.10.15 NMAC shall be liberally construed to carry out its purpose.

If any portion or application of 19.10.15 NMAC is held invalid, the remainder, or its application to other persons or situations, shall not be affected.

New Mexico Mining Commission.

All persons subject to the New Mexico Mining Act NMSA 1978, Section 69-36-1 et. seq.

Applications filed with the director shall be accompanied by a fee determined under the following schedule: A. The permit application fee for an existing mining operation shall be determined by adding: (1) $1,000.00 base fee; (2) $15.00 per acre for the first 50 acres of land exp…

A. The annual fee for an existing mining operation shall be determined by adding: (1) $800.00 base fee; (2) $15.00 per acre for the first 50 acres of currently disturbed surface land plus $3.00 per acre for all disturbed land over 50 acres; (3) a fee determined in accordance with…

A. The following table is used to calculate the portion of the fee based on certain types of facilities. These tables reflect the complexity of an operation. A facility fee in each applicable category will be assessed based on total acreage for all facilities of that type. B. Thi…

A. Payments shall be in cash or check made payable to the Mining and Minerals Division and received by the Division on or prior to the date due. The Division shall deposit the payment with the state treasurer in the Mining Act Fund. B. This fee schedule applies to all permit appl…

A late fee shall be charged for fees that are paid after the due date of April 30th, each year. The late fee shall consist of (i) $100 to cover administrative costs associated with the late payment and (ii) interest on the amount of the unpaid fees at an annual rate of fifteen pe…

A. To compensate the department of game and fish for its costs required to implement its involvement in implementing the act, a percentage surcharge shall be added in the same percentage to each of the above application and annual fees. This surcharge shall be 4.5 percent of fees…

NMSA 1978, Section 69-36-1 et. seq.

Permanent.

February 15, 1996, unless a later date is cited at the end of a section. A. All references to the Mining Act Parts 1-13 in any other rule shall be understood as a reference to 19.10 NMAC. B. The amendment and replacement of The Mining Act Parts 1-13 shall not affect any administr…

The objective of Parts 1-14 of 19.10 NMAC is to establish regulations to implement the New Mexico Mining Act as directed in NMSA 69-36-7 A. These regulations are designed to ensure proper reclamation through permitting for operations subject to the Mining Act, in accordance with …

[RESERVED] [Definitions for this part can be found in 19.10.1.7 NMAC.]

New Mexico Mining Commission.

All persons subject to the New Mexico Mining Act NMSA 1978, Section 69-36-1 et. seq.

NMSA 1978, Section 69-36-1 et. seq.

Prospectors, gold panners and rock collectors causing no or very little surface disturbance with their activities are excluded from the requirements of the Act and 19.10 NMAC pursuant to the definition of "Exploration," in 19.10.1 NMAC. Excavation(s) by one operator totaling grea…

A. Validity (1) Operators must have a valid permit prior to commencing operations. (2) A general permit for operations not occurring in intermittent streams, perennial streams or other bodies of water is valid for a period of one year once the applicant has submitted a signed cop…

A. A minimal impact exploration operation will not exceed 1000 cubic yards of excavation per permit. Disturbances for constructed roads, drill pads and mud pits shall be no more than 5 acres total and will not be counted in the excavated materials. The type of road construction, …

A. An existing mining operation that continues mining operations will not be considered a minimal impact existing mining operation if it exceeds 10 acres of disturbed land, or 40 acres of disturbed land in the case of dolomite, garnet, humate, perlite and zeolite operations that:…

A. A minimal impact new mining operation will not exceed 10 acres of disturbed land, or 40 acres of disturbed land in the case of dolomite, garnet, humate, perlite and zeolite operations that: (1) are located outside Bernalillo, Dona Ana and Santa Fe counties; and (2) are committ…

Permanent.

February 15, 1996, unless a later date is cited at the end of a section. A. All references to the Mining Act Parts 1-13 in any other rule shall be understood as a reference to 19.10 NMAC. B. The amendment and replacement of The Mining Act Parts 1-13 shall not affect any administr…

The objective of Parts 1-14 of 19.10 NMAC is to establish regulations to implement the New Mexico Mining Act as directed in NMSA 69-36-7 A. These regulations are designed to ensure proper reclamation through permitting for operations subject to the Mining Act, in accordance with …

[RESERVED] [Definitions for this part can be found in 19.10.1.7 NMAC.]

New Mexico Mining Commission.

All persons subject to the New Mexico Mining Act NMSA 1978, Section 69-36-1 et. seq.

NMSA 1978, Section 69-36-1 et. seq.

Permanent.

A. After December 31, 1994, no person shall engage in exploration operations in New Mexico without first obtaining a permit to conduct exploration from the Director. B. Any person conducting exploration and who intends to continue exploration after December 31, 1994, shall submit…

A. Six copies of an application for a permit shall be submitted to the Director. The Director may require additional copies for distribution by the Director to other governmental agencies. B. All information submitted to the Director shall be made available for public inspection …

Operations shall be designed and conducted to mitigate disturbance caused by exploration operations and, to the extent practicable, provide for the stabilization of disturbed areas to minimize future impact to the environment and protect air and water resources following closure.…

A. Enforcement of other state or federal laws, regulations or standards shall be conducted by the agency charged with that responsibility under the applicable state or federal law, regulation or standard. B. Enforcement of non-point source surface releases of acids or other toxic…

A. Terms (1) A permit to conduct exploration and reclamation operations shall be valid for a period of not more than one year from the date of issuance. (2) The permittee shall maintain a permit until financial assurance is released under 19.10.12 NMAC. (3) If the permit area con…