Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 6, March 26, 2024
A. Definitions with
letter "A."
(1) "Acid/Acid Drainage" means
water that is discharged from an area affected by mineral exploration, mining
or reclamation, with a pH of less than 5.5 and in which total acidity exceeds
total alkalinity as defined by the latest edition of Standard Methods for the
Examination of Water and Wastewater.
(2) "Act" means the New Mexico Mining Act,
Sections
69-36-1
through
69-36-20, NMSA
1978.
(3) "Affected area" means the
area outside of the permit area where the land surface, surface water, ground
water or air resources are impacted by mining operations within the permit
area.
(4) "As-built drawings" means
engineering drawings signed and sealed by a professional engineer registered in
New Mexico which portray facilities as constructed and which the engineer
certifies that the facility meets the requirements of the relevant
rule.
B. Definitions
with the letter "B." [RESERVED]
C.
Definitions with the letter "C."
(1)
"Commission" means the Mining Commission established in the Act.
(2) "Contaminated" means the presence of
substances at concentrations exceeding state or federal standards as a result
of mining exploration or reclamation.
D. Definitions with the letter "D."
(1) "Director" means the Director of the
Division or his designee.
(2)
"Disturbed area" means an area where the earth's surface is disturbed as a
result of mining or activities facilitating mining.
(3) "Diversion" means a channel, embankment,
or other man-made structure constructed to divert water from one area to
another.
(4) "Division" means the
Mining and Minerals Division of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources
Department.
E.
Definitions with the letter "E."
(1)
"Ephemeral stream" means a stream or reach of a stream that flows briefly only
in direct response to precipitation or snowmelt in the immediate locality; its
channel bed is always above the water table of the region adjoining the
stream.
(2) "Existing mining
operation" means an extraction operation that produced marketable minerals for
a total of at least two years between January 1, 1970 and June 18,
1993.
(3) "Exploration" means the
act of searching for or investigating a mineral deposit, including sinking
shafts, tunneling, drilling core and bore holes, digging pits, making cuts and
other works for the purpose of extracting samples prior to commencement of
development or extraction operations and the building of roads, access ways and
other facilities related to such work; however, activities that cause no, or
very little, surface disturbance, such as airborne surveys and photographs, use
of instruments or devices that are hand carried or otherwise transported over
the surface to perform magnetic, radioactive or other tests and measurements,
boundary or claim surveying, location work or other work that causes no greater
disturbance than is caused by ordinary lawful use of the area by persons not
engaged in exploration are excluded from the meaning of
"exploration."
F.
Definitions with the letter "F." [RESERVED]
G. Definitions with the letter "G."
(1) "Ground cover" means foliar or basal area
cover of living plant material, rock or litter.
(2) "Ground water" means interstitial water
which occurs in saturated earth material and which is capable of entering a
well in sufficient amounts to be utilized as a water supply.
H. Definitions with the letter
"H." [RESERVED]
I. Definitions with
the letter "I."
(1) "Important habitat" means
vegetation, water and physical resources that are utilized by sensitive
wildlife species or are critical to the survival or productivity of important
wildlife populations.
(2)
"Important wildlife" means wildlife populations determined by the Department of
Game and Fish as having high recreational, ecological or commercial
values.
(3) "Impoundment" means a
basin constructed for the retention of water or sediment, but does not include
impoundments for process solutions or tailings.
(4) "Intermittent stream" means a stream or
reach of a stream that flows only at certain times of the year, such as when it
receives flow from springs, melting snow, or localized precipitation.
J. Definitions with the letter
"J." [RESERVED]
K. Definitions with
the letter "K." [RESERVED]
L.
Definitions with the letter "L."
(1) "Life
zone of the surrounding area" means the climate, elevation and topography of
the undisturbed environment in the locality of lands disturbed by
mining.
(2) "Location work" means
the minimum amount of labor or improvements required to establish a federal
mining claim.
M.
Definitions with the letter "M."
(1)
"Mineral" means a nonliving commodity that is extracted from the earth for use
or conversion into a saleable or usable product, but does not include clays,
adobe, flagstone, potash, sand, gravel, caliche, borrow dirt, quarry rock used
as aggregate for construction, coal, surface water or subsurface water,
geo-thermal resources, oil and natural gas together with other chemicals
recovered with them, commodities, byproduct materials and wastes that are
regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or waste regulated under
Subtitle C of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
(2) "Minimal impact mining operation" means a
mining operation or an exploration operation determined by the Director, in
consultation with other state agencies, likely to have minimal environmental
impact if operated and reclaimed in accordance with the approved permit. In
making this determination, the Director shall, except as set forth in
Subsection M, Paragraph 2, Subparagraph j of 19.10.1.7 NMAC exclude from
minimal impact status operations with any of the characteristics:
(a) Located in or expected to have a direct
surface impact on wetlands, springs, perennial or intermittent streams, lakes,
rivers, reservoirs or riparian areas, except those excluded by 19.10.3.300
NMAC;
(b) Located in designated
critical habitat areas as determined in accordance with the federal Endangered
Species Act of 1973 or in areas determined by the Department of Game and Fish
likely to result in an adverse impact on an endangered species designated in
accordance with the Wildlife Conservation Act, Sections
17-2-37
through
17-2-46
NMSA 1978 or by the State Forestry Division for the Endangered Plants Act,
Section
75-6-1
NMSA 1978;
(c) Located in an area
with cultural resources listed on either the National Register of Historic
Places or the State Register of Cultural Properties;
(d) Having or expected to have a direct
impact on ground water that has a total dissolved solids concentration of less
than 10,000 mg/l, except exploratory drilling intersecting ground water may be
performed as a minimal impact operation;
(e) Expected to use or using cyanide, mercury
amalgam, heap leaching or dump leaching in its operations;
(f) Located in a known cemetery or other
burial ground;
(g) Located in an
area designated as a Federal Wilderness Area, Wilderness Study Area, Area of
Critical Environmental Concern, or an area within the National Wild and Scenic
River System;
(h) Expected to
result in point or non-point source surface or subsurface releases of acid or
other toxic substances from the permit area; or
(i) Requiring a variance from any element of
these regulations as part of the permit application.
(j) The Director may determine that an
operation with any of the characteristics set forth in Subsection M, Paragraph
2, Subparagraphs a through d of 19.10.1.7 NMAC may qualify for minimal impact
status, if the Director finds the operation is likely to have minimal
environmental impact if operated and reclaimed in accordance with the approved
permit. In making this determination, the Director shall:
(i) obtain written concurrence from the
Secretary of the Environment Department for a waiver of characteristics in
Subsection M, Paragraph 2, Subparagraphs a or d of 19.10.1.7 NMAC;
(ii) obtain written concurrence from the
Director of the Department of Game and Fish for a waiver of any portion of
characteristic in Subsection M, Paragraph 2, Subparagraph b of 19.10.1.7 NMAC
that does not apply to the State Forestry Division; and
(iii) obtain written consultation from and
cooperate with the Office of Cultural Affairs for a waiver of characteristics
in Subsection M, Paragraph 2, Subparagraph c of 19.10.1.7
NMAC.
(k) In addition,
where interrelated mining operations are located in close proximity to each
other, the Director may determine to issue one permit for all the operations
which may eliminate these operations from consideration as minimal impact
operations. In determining whether or not the operations are interrelated, the
Director shall look for common owners or operators, immediate family members as
owners or operators, related corporations as owners or operators or other
common, reliable indicators of interrelated operations.
(3) "Mining" means the process of obtaining
useful minerals from the earth's crust or from previously disposed or abandoned
mining wastes, including exploration, open-cut mining and surface operation,
the disposal of refuse from underground and in situ mining, mineral
transportation, concentrating, milling, evaporation, leaching and other
processing. "Mining" does not mean the exploration and extraction of potash,
sand, gravel, caliche, borrow dirt and quarry rock used as aggregate in
construction, the exploration and extraction of natural petroleum in a liquid
or gaseous state by means of wells or pipes, the development or extraction of
coal, the extraction of geothermal resources, smelting, refining, cleaning,
preparation, transportation or other off-site operations not conducted on
permit areas or the extraction, processing or disposal of commodities,
byproduct materials or wastes or other activities regulated by the federal
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
N. Definitions with the letter "N." "New
mining operation" means a mining operation that engages in a development or
extraction operation after June 18, 1993 and that is not an existing mining
operation.
O. Definitions with the
letter "O." "Obtaining useful minerals" does not include the recovery of
minerals from previously disposed or abandoned mining wastes when the Director
determines the following:
(1) that those
wastes are removed from a location that does not require a permit under the
Act;
(2) the wastes are removed
pursuant to a plan approved by appropriate Federal or State authorities for
mitigating and controlling adverse environmental impacts from the wastes and
from the removal activities; and
(3)the wastes are taken to a facility
appropriately permitted for processing.
P. Definitions with the letter "P."
(1) "Perennial stream" means a stream or
reach of a stream that flows continuously throughout the year in all years; its
upper surface, generally, is lower than the water table of the region adjoining
the stream.
(2) "Permit-by-rule"
means an authorization to engage in mining activities without obtaining an
individual permit under this Act provided that the conditions specified in
Subsection B of 19.10.3.301 NMAC are met.
(3) "Permit area" means the geographical area
defined in the permit for a new mining operation or for an existing mining
operation on which mining operations are conducted or cause
disturbance
(4) "Permittee" is the
person or entity issued the permit by the Director, or required to have a
permit under the Mining Act.
(5)
"Post-mining land use" means a beneficial use or multiple uses which will be
established on a permit area after completion of a mining project. The
post-mining land use may involve active management of the land. The use shall
be selected by the owner of the land and approved by the Director. The uses
which may be approved as post-mining land uses may include agricultural,
commercial or ecological uses that would ensure compliance with Federal, State
or local laws, regulations and standards and which are feasible. Approved
post-mining land use categories include, but are not limited to:
(a) cropland
(b) pasture land or land occasionally cut for
hay
(c) grazing land
(d) forestry
(e) residential
(f) industrial/commercial
(g) recreation or tourism
(h) wildlife habitat
(i) developed water resources
(j) scientific or educational
(6) "Precipitation event" means an
event with a specified frequency of return and specified period of duration as
defined in "Precipitation-Frequency Atlas of the Western United States," vol.
IV-New Mexico.
Q.
Definitions with the letter "Q." "Quarry rock used as aggregate in
construction" means rock extracted from a surface mine which is actually used
in construction. Construction use includes building materials, landscaping,
erosion control and stabilization and road maintenance activities.
R. Definitions with the letter "R."
(1) "Reclamation" means the employment during
and after a mining operation of measures designed to mitigate the disturbance
of affected areas and permit areas and to the extent practicable, provide for
the stabilization of a permit area following closure that will minimize future
impact to the environment from the mining operation and protect air and water
resources.
(2) "Revision" means a
modification to a permit that has a significant environmental impact and
requires public notice and an opportunity for public hearing.
(3) "Riparian area" means a geographically
delineated area with distinct resource values, that is characterized by plant
species that depend on having roots in the water table or its capillary zone
and that occurs within or adjacent to a perennial or intermittent stream, lake,
pond, spring, or marsh bed maintained by natural water sources. For the
purposes of 19.10 NMAC, "Riparian area" does not include areas in or adjacent
to man-made bodies of water which neither were originally created in a natural
watercourse nor resulted in an impoundment of a natural watercourse.
S. Definitions with the letter
"S."
(1) "Safeguard" means to restrict, to
the extent practicable, entrance or access by unauthorized persons to mine
shafts, adits, pits, highwalls or other hazardous areas created by the operator
or owner of a mining operation in order to reduce the possibility of
accidents.
(2) "Self-sustaining
ecosystem" means reclaimed land that is self-renewing without augmented
seeding, amendments, or other assistance which is capable of supporting
communities of living organisms and their environment. A self-sustaining
ecosystem includes hydrologic and nutrient cycles functioning at levels of
productivity sufficient to support biological diversity.
(3) "Sensitive wildlife species" means a
species that has been identified by federal or state agencies pursuant to the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 or the Wildlife Conservation Act, Sections
17-2-37
through
17-2-46
NMSA 1978, as requiring special protection to maintain its continued existence
throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
(4) "Stabilize" means to control movement of
soil or areas of disturbed earth by modifying the landform, or by otherwise
modifying physical or chemical properties, such as by providing a protective
surface coating or vegetation.
(5)
"Standby status" means the permitted temporary cessation of a mining operation
which is expected to resume.
T. Definitions with the letter "T."
(1) "Topdressing" means geological material
and other amendments capable of supporting vegetation.
(2) "Topsoil" means the "A" soil horizon or
other soil material capable of supporting vegetation.
U. Definitions with the letter "U." "Unit"
means a component of a mining operation including but not limited to
processing, leaching, excavation, storage, stockpile or waste units.
V. Definitions with the letter "V."
[RESERVED]
W. Definitions with the
letter "W."
(1) "Wetlands" means those areas
which are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and
duration sufficient to support, and under normal circumstances do support, a
prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil
conditions in New Mexico. For the purposes of 19.10 NMAC, "wetlands" does not
include areas in or adjacent to man-made bodies of water which neither were
originally created in a natural watercourse nor resulted in an impoundment of a
natural watercourse.
(2) "Wildlife"
means all wild birds, fish, mammals, mollusks, reptiles, amphibians and
crustaceans.
X.
Definitions with the letter "X." [RESERVED]
Y. Definitions with the letter "Y."
[RESERVED]
Z. Definitions with the
letter "Z." [RESERVED]