New Mexico Administrative Code

A. Diversions from perennial and intermittent streams within the permit area shall be approved by the director, if he finds that the diversions comply with: (1) the requirements of Subsection A of 19.8.20.2025 NMAC and Subsection A of 19.8.20.2011 NMAC; (2) local, state and feder…

A. Appropriate sediment control measures shall be designed, constructed, and maintained using the best technology currently available to: (1) prevent, to the extent possible, additional contributions of sediment to streamflow or to runoff outside the permit area; (2) meet the mor…

A. When required under 19.8.20.2010 NMAC sedimentation ponds shall be used individually or in series and shall: (1) be constructed and certified before any disturbance of the undisturbed area to be drained into the pond and, in addition, for underground mines prior to any dischar…

Discharge from sedimentation ponds, permanent and temporary impoundments, coal processing waste dams and embankments, and diversions shall be controlled, by energy dissipators, riprap channels, and other devices, where necessary, to reduce erosion, to prevent deepening or enlarge…

Drainage from acid-forming and toxic-forming spoil into ground and surface water shall be avoided by: A. identifying, burying, and treating where necessary, spoil which, in the judgment of the director, may be detrimental to vegetation or may adversely affect water quality if not…

A. Permanent impoundments are prohibited unless authorized by the director, upon the basis of the following demonstrations: (1) the size and configuration of such impoundment will be adequate for its intended purposes; (2) the quality of impounded water will be suitable on a perm…

A. Backfilled materials shall be placed so as to minimize contamination of ground water systems with acid, toxic, or otherwise harmful mine drainage, to minimize adverse effects of mining on ground water systems outside the permit area, and to support approved postmining land use…

Surface mining activities shall be conducted in a manner that facilitates reclamation which will restore approximate premining recharge capacity, through restoration of the capability of the reclaimed areas as a whole, excluding coal processing waste and underground development w…

A. Ground water. (1) Ground water levels, subsurface flow and storage characteristics and the quality of ground water shall be monitored in a manner approved by the director, to determine the effects of surface coal mining operations on the recharge capacity of reclaimed land and…

A. An exploratory or monitoring well may be transferred by the person who conducts surface coal mining operations for further use as a water well with the prior approval of the director and with such approval as is otherwise required by the state engineer. That person and the sur…

Any person who conducts surface coal mining operations shall comply with any water replacement plan approved by the state engineer under the Mine Dewatering Act, and shall also comply with applicable statutes and regulations administered by the state engineer.

Water from the surface or from an underground mine shall not be diverted or otherwise discharged into other underground mine workings, unless the person who conducts the surface coal mining operations demonstrates to the director that this will: A. abate water pollution or otherw…

Before abandoning the permit area, the person who conducts the surface coal mining operations shall renovate all permanent sedimentation ponds, diversions, impoundments, and treatment facilities to meet criteria specified in the detailed design plan for the permanent structures a…

A. No surface land within 100 feet of a perennial stream or a stream with a biological community determined according to Subsection C of 19.8.20.2025 NMAC shall be disturbed by surface coal mining operations except in accordance with 19.8.20.2011 and 2012 NMAC, unless the directo…

A. Surface entries and accesses to underground workings, including adits and slopes, shall be located, designed, constructed, and utilized to prevent or control gravity discharge of water from the mine. B. Gravity discharge of water from an underground mine, other than a drift mi…

Surface coal mining operations shall be conducted so as to maximize the utilization and conservation of the coal while maintaining environmental integrity so that reaffecting the land in the future through surface mining operations is minimized.

A. Each operator shall comply with all applicable state and federal laws in the use of explosives. B. Blasts that use more than 5 lbs. of explosive or blasting agent shall be conducted according to the schedule required by 19.8.20.2030 NMAC. C. Blasters. (1) No later than twelve …

A. At least 30 days before initiation of blasting, the operator shall notify, in writing, all residents or owners of dwellings or other structures located within 1/2 mile of the permit area how to request a preblasting survey. B. A resident or owner of a dwelling or structure wit…

A. General requirements. (1) The operator shall conduct blasting operations at times approved by the director and announced in the blasting schedule. The director may limit the area covered, timing, and sequence of blasting as listed in the schedule, if such limitations are neces…

A. Blasting signs. Blasting signs shall meet the specifications of Subsections A and B of 19.8.20.2000 NMAC. The operator shall:(1) conspicuously place signs reading "Blasting Area" along the edge of any blasting area that comes within 100 feet of any public road right-of-way, an…

A. General requirements. Blasting shall be conducted to prevent injury to persons, damage to public or private property outside the permit area, adverse impacts on any underground mine, and change in the course, channel, or availability of surface or ground water outside the perm…

The operator shall retain a record of all blasts for at least 3 years. Upon request, copies of these records shall be made available to the director and to the public for inspection. Such records shall contain the following data: A. name of the operator conducting the blast; B. l…

A. Spoil not required to achieve the approximate original contour within the area where overburden has been removed shall be hauled or conveyed to and placed in designated disposal areas within a permit area, if the disposal areas are authorized for such purposes in the approved …

Valley fills shall meet all of the requirements of 19.8.20.2034 NMAC and the additional requirements of 19.8.20 NMAC. A. The fill shall be designed to attain a long-term static safety factor of 1.5 based upon data obtained from subsurface exploration, geotechnical testing, founda…

Disposal of spoil in the head-of-hollow fill shall meet all standards set forth in 19.8.20.2034 and 2035 NMAC and the additional requirements of 19.8.20 NMAC. A. The fill shall be designed to completely fill the disposal site to the approximate elevation of the ridgeline. A rock-…

In lieu of the requirements of 19.8.20.2035 and 2036 NMAC, the director may approve alternate methods of disposal of hard rock spoil, including fill placement by dumping in a single lift, on a site specific basis, provided the services of a registered professional engineer experi…

A. No surface coal mining activities shall be conducted closer than 500 feet to any point of either an active or abandoned underground mine, except to the extent that: (1) the nature, timing, and sequences of the operations are jointly approved by the director, the mine safety an…

A. Coal processing waste banks shall be designed and constructed to meet the requirements of 30 CFR 77.214/77.215, and approved by the director. B. All coal processing waste other than wastes to be disposed of in the mine workings or excavation, shall be hauled or conveyed and pl…

A. All coal processing waste banks shall be inspected, on behalf of the person conducting surface coal mining operations, by a qualified registered professional engineer or other qualified professional specialist under the direction of the professional engineer. (1) Such inspecti…

A. Unless the operator demonstrates to the director that embankments can be constructed so as not to impose safety or environmental hazards, a properly designed subdrainage shall be provided, which shall: (1) intercept all ground water sources; (2) be protected by an adequate fil…

A. Coal processing waste banks shall be constructed in compliance with 19.8.20.2034 and 2035 NMAC, depending on the location of the waste bank, except to the extent the requirements of those sections are specifically varied in 19.8.2042 NMAC. B. Following grading of the coal proc…

Coal processing waste fires shall be extinguished by the person who conducts the surface coal mining operations, in accordance with a plan approved by the director and the mine safety and health administration. The plan shall contain, at a minimum, provisions to ensure that only …

Before any burned coal processing waste, other materials, or refuse is removed from a disposal area, approval shall be obtained from the director. A plan for the method of removal, with maps and appropriate drawings to illustrate the proposed sequence of the operation and method …

Coal processing waste may be returned to underground mine workings only in accordance with the waste disposal program approved by the director and MSHA under 19.8.9.917 NMAC.

A. Non-coal wastes including, but not limited to, grease, lubricants, paints, flammable liquids, garbage, abandoned mining machinery, lumber and other combustibles shall be placed, stored or disposed of in a controlled manner in a designated portion of the permit area in accordan…

A. 19.8.20.2047 through 2049 NMAC apply to dams and embankments, constructed of coal processing waste, or intended to impound coal processing waste, whether they were completed before adoption of 19.8 NMAC or are intended to be completed thereafter. B. Waste shall not be used in …

A. All trees, shrubs, grasses and other organic material shall be cleared and grubbed from the site, and all combustibles shall be removed in accordance with the requirements of 19.8.20 NMAC and B. Surface drainage that may cause erosion to the embankment area or the embankment f…

A. The design of each dam and embankment constructed of coal processing waste or intended to impound such waste shall comply with the requirements of Subsections B through G of 19.8.20.2017 NMAC modified as follows: (1) the maximum water elevation shall be that determined by the …

A. Fugitive dust. Each person who conducts surface coal mining operations shall plan and employ fugitive dust control measures as an integral part of site preparation, coal mining, and reclamation operations. The director shall approve the control measures appropriate for use in …

A. Any person conducting surface coal mining operations shall, to the extent possible using the best technology current available, minimize disturbances and adverse impacts of the operations on fish, wildlife, and related environmental values, and achieve enhancement of such reso…

A. For surface mining activities, unless demonstrated to and approved by the director that equivalent stability can be obtained through other technology, an undisturbed natural barrier shall be provided beginning at the elevation of the lowest coal seam to be mined and extending …

Reclamation efforts, including, but not limited to, backfilling, grading, topdressing replacement and revegetation, of all land that is disturbed by surface coal mining operations shall occur as contemporaneously as practicable with mining operations.

A. Timing of backfilling and grading. (1) Contour mining. Rough backfilling and grading shall follow coal removal by not more than 60 days or 1,500 linear feet. The director may grant additional time or distance for rough backfilling and grading if the permittee can demonstrate, …

A. The final graded slopes shall not exceed in grade either the approximate premining slopes, or any lesser slopes approved by the director based on consideration of soil, climate, or other characteristics of the surrounding area. Postmining final graded slopes need not be unifor…

A. Exposed coal seams, acid- and toxic-forming materials, and combustible materials exposed, used, or produced during surface coal mining and reclamation operations shall be adequately covered with non-toxic and non-combustible materials, or treated, to control the impact on surf…

A. The provisions of 19.8.20.2057 NMAC apply only where the overburden thickness times the swell factor, plus the thickness of other available waste materials, is less than the combined thickness of the overburden and coal bed prior to removing the coal and only when surface mini…

A. The provisions of 19.8.20.2058 NMAC apply only where the overburden thickness times the swell factor exceeds the combined thickness of the overburden and coal bed prior to removing the coal and only when surface mining activities cannot be carried out to comply with 19.8.20.20…