New Mexico Administrative Code

A. The director must review the materials submitted under 19.8.35.8 NMAC, comments received under 19.8.35.11 NMAC, and any other relevant, reasonably available information to determine whether the record is sufficiently complete and adequate to support a decision on the merits of…

A determination that the requester has or does not have valid existing rights is subject to administrative and judicial review under 19.8.12.1200 NMAC and 19.8.12.1202 NMAC.

The director must make a copy of the VER request available to the public under Subsection E of 19.8.11.1100 NMAC. In addition, the director must make records associated with the VER request, and any subsequent determination under 19.8.35.12 NMAC, available to the public in accord…

All persons subject to the New Mexico Surface Mining Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 69-25A-1 et. Seq. (1979).

NMSA 1978, Sections 69-25A-1 et. seq. (1979).

Permanent.

January 15, 2002, unless a later date is cited at the end of a section.

The objective of Parts 1 - 35 of Chapter 8 is to establish regulations to implement the New Mexico Surface Mining Act as directed in NMSA 1978, Section 69-25A-5(1979). These regulations are intended to ensure proper reclamation through permitting for operations subject to the New…

A. VALID EXISTING RIGHTS (VER) means a set of circumstances under which a person may, subject to regulatory authority approval, conduct surface coal mining operations on lands where 19.8.2.201 NMAC would otherwise prohibit such operations. Possession of valid existing rights only…

A. The director will be responsible for making a determination on valid and existing rights for lands protected under 19.8.2.201 NMAC, with the exception of federal lands in protected features listed in Subsection F of 19.8.2.201 NMAC. A determination on valid existing rights not…

A. A demonstration of property rights under the definition of valid existing rights in Paragraph (1) of Subsection A of 19.8.35.7 NMAC must be provided to the director if the request relies upon the good faith/all permits standard or the needed for and adjacent standard identifie…

Coal Surface Mining Commission

A. At least 50 days prior to submitting a permit application accompanied by a mining plan, the operator shall file with the director a notice of its intent to do so. The notice shall include all of the information required by Section 2 [now 19.8.36.9 NMAC] above along with such o…

For good cause shown, mining plans may be amended with the approval of the director. Upon request of the operator and upon 15 days notice to the operator, the director shall set a hearing on any proposal to amend a mining plan. The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with th…

Applications by operators to the director for approval shall be deemed to be application for extension of time to permit compliance with the requirement of obtaining such approval and the pendency of such application shall entitle the operator so applying to continue operations i…

A. Within 60 days after the end of the operator's mining year, the operator shall submit to the director two copies of a report, setting out in detail all measures taken to effect reclamation of the affected area. The report will be typewritten and signed by the operator. The rep…

Each operator shall pay an annual fee of $20.00 per acre of affected area resulting from his mining operations during the preceding mining year. The annual fee shall accompany the annual report.

In the hearings provided for in Subsection 3 J and Section 4 of this Rule 79-1 [now Subsection J of 19.8.36.10 NMAC and 19.8.36.11 NMAC] and in Laws, 1979, Chapter 291, as being adjudicatory in nature: A. the director may designate a hearing officer to take evidence at the hearin…

A. Any person who is or may be aggrieved by the decision of the director may appeal the director's decision by filing a notice of appeal with the chairman of the commission within 30 days of the date of the director's decision. The notice of appeal shall include a short concise s…

Any notice, decision or other document required to be served by these regulations may be served either personally or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, directed to the operator or other person required to be served at his last known address as shown by the…

An operator's "mining year" shall be the calendar year.

Whenever the director contemplates that it may be necessary to insure compliance under the provisions of the Act, or any regulation or mining plan requirement, he shall give notice of intention to require bond, its condition and amount, to the operator and the operator shall be g…

[RESERVED]

For good cause shown, mining permits may be amended upon approval of the director. The director may, in the exercise of his discretion, order a public hearing upon reasonable notice to the permittee and the public. Such hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions…

A. Permits issued pursuant to this Rule 79-1 [now 19.8.36 NMAC], preceding the date which occurs eight months following the date upon which the state program is approved, within the meaning of Section 503 of the Surfacemining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, shall be deemed t…

A. Authorizations to operate. A copy of all current permits, licenses, approved plans, or other authorizations to operate the mine shall be available for inspection at or near the mine site. B. Mine maps. Any person conducting surface coal mining and reclamation operations on and…

A. Specifications. All signs required to be posted shall be of a standard design that can be seen and read easily and shall be made of durable material. The signs and other markers shall be maintained during all operations to which they pertain and shall conform to local ordinanc…

A. General. All disturbed areas shall be restored in a timely manner (1) to conditions that are capable of supporting the uses which they were capable of supporting before any mining, or (2) to higher or better uses achievable under criteria and procedures of paragraph (d) of thi…

In order to achieve the approximate original contour, the permittee shall, except as provided in this section, transport, backfill, compact (where advisable to ensure stability or to prevent leaching of toxic materials) and grade all spoil material to eliminate all highwalls, spo…

A. Disposal of spoil in other than valley or head-of-hollow fills. Spoil not required to achieve the approximate original contour shall be transported to and placed in a controlled (engineered) manner in disposal areas other than the mine workings or excavations only if all the f…

To prevent topsoil from being contaminated by spoil or waste materials, the permittee shall remove the topsoil as a separate operation from areas to be disturbed. Topsoil shall be immediately redistributed according to the requirements of Paragraph (b) [now Subsection B of 19.8.3…

The permittee shall plan and conduct coal mining and reclamation operations to minimize disturbance to the prevailing hydrologic balance in order to prevent long-term adverse changes in the hydrologic balance that could result from surface coal mining and reclamation operations, …

1The standards in this section will be enjoined to the extent that they supersede, amend, repeal or modify the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and its regulations. A. All surface drainage from the disturbed area, including disturbed areas that have been grad…

A. General. No waste material shall be used in existing or new dams without the approval of the regulatory authority. The permittee shall design, locate, construct, operate, maintain, modify and abandon or remove all dams (used either temporarily or permanently) constructed of wa…

A. General. (1) The permittee shall comply with all applicable local, state and federal laws and regulations and the requirements of this section in the storage, handling, preparation and use of explosives. (2) Blasting operations that use more than the equivalent of 5 pounds of …

A. General. (1) The permittee shall establish on all land that has been disturbed, a diverse, effective and permanent vegetative cover of species native to the area of disturbed land or species that will support the planned postmining uses of the land approved according to Sectio…

All surface coal mining and reclamation operations subject to this part shall comply with the applicable special performance standards in this part. Such operations shall also comply with all general performance standards in Part 715 of this chapter unless specifically exempted i…

The permittee conducting surface coal mining and reclamation operations on natural slopes that exceed 20 degrees, or on lesser slopes that require measures to protect the area from disturbance, as determined by the regulatory authority after consideration of soils, climate, the m…

A. Surface coal mining and reclamation operations that remove entire coal seams running through the upper fraction of a mountain, ridge or hill by removing all of the overburden and creating a level plateau or gently rolling contour with no highwalls remaining are exempt from the…

3 - Enforcement of these provisions promulgated pursuant to Sections 510(d) and 515(b)(7) of the federal act will be enjoined to the extent they impose perfor mance standards on operations that are exempt from these requirements pursuant to Section 510(d)(2). A. Applicability. (1…

A. Compliance. Alll underground coal mining and associated reclamation operations conducted on lands where any element of the operations is regulated by a state shall comply with the initial performance standards of this Part. (1) For the purposes of this Part, underground coal m…

A. Specifications. All signs required to be posted shall be of a standard design that can be seen and read easily and shall be made of durable material and shall conform to local ordinances and codes. The signs and other markers shall be maintained during all operations to which …

A. Upon completion of underground mining, surface work areas which are involved in excavation, disposal of materials or otherwise affected, shall be regraded to approximate original contour. The permittee shall transport, backfill and compact fill material to assure stability or …

[RESERVED]

Excess rock and earth materials produced from an underground mine and not disposed in underground workings or used in backfilling and grading operations shall be placed in surface disposal areas in accordance with requirements of Section 715.15. Where the volume of such material …

The permittee shall plan and conduct underground coal mining and reclamation operations to minimize disturbance of the prevailing hydrologic balance in order to prevent long-term adverse changes in the hydrologic balance that could result from underground coal mining operations, …