New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 19 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND WILDLIFE
Chapter 15 - OIL AND GAS
Part 36 - SURFACE WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES
Section 19.15.36.15 - SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO LANDFARMS

Universal Citation: 19 NM Admin Code 19.15.36.15

Current through Register Vol. 36, No. 6, March 25, 2025

A. Oil field waste acceptance criteria. Only soils and drill cuttings predominantly contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons shall be placed in a landfarm. The division may approve placement of tank bottoms in a landfarm if the operator demonstrates that the tank bottoms do not contain economically recoverable petroleum hydrocarbons. Soils and drill cuttings placed in a landfarm shall be sufficiently free of liquid content to pass the paint filter test, and shall not have a chloride concentration exceeding 500 mg/kg if the landfarm is located where ground water is less than 100 feet but at least 50 feet below the lowest elevation at which the operator will place oil field waste or exceeding 1000 mg/kg if the landfarm is located where ground water is 100 feet or more below the lowest elevation at which the operator will place oil field waste. The person tendering oil field waste for treatment at a landfarm shall certify, on form C-138, that representative samples of the oil field waste have been subjected to the paint filter test and tested for chloride content, and that the samples have been found to conform to these requirements. The landfarm's operator shall not accept oil field waste for landfarm treatment unless accompanied by this certification.

B. Background testing. Prior to beginning operation of a new landfarm or to opening a new cell at an existing landfarm at which the operator has not already established background, the operator shall take, at a minimum, 12 composite background soil samples, with each consisting of 16 discrete samples from areas that previous operations have not impacted at least six inches below the original ground surface, to establish background soil concentrations for the entire surface waste management facility. The operator shall analyze the background soil samples for TPH, as determined by EPA method 418.1 or other EPA method approved by the division; BTEX, as determined by EPA SW-846 method 8021B or 8260B; chlorides; and other constituents listed in Subsections A and B of 20.6.2.3103 NMAC, using approved EPA methods.

C. Operation and oil field waste treatment.

(1) The operator shall berm each landfarm cell to prevent rainwater run-on and run-off.

(2) The operator shall not place contaminated soils received after the effective date of 19.15.36 NMAC within 100 feet of the surface waste management facility's boundary.

(3) The operator shall not place contaminated soils received at a landfarm after the effective date of 19.15.36 NMAC within 20 feet of a pipeline crossing the landfarm.

(4) With 72 hours after receipt, the operator shall spread and disk contaminated soils in eight-inch or less lifts or approximately 1000 cubic yards per acre per eight-inch lift or biopile.

(5) The operator shall ensure that soils are disked biweekly and biopiles are turned at least monthly.

(6) The operator shall add moisture, as necessary, to enhance bioremediation and to control blowing dust.

(7) The application of microbes for the purposes of enhancing bioremediation requires prior division approval.

(8) Pooling of liquids in the landfarm is prohibited. The operator shall remove freestanding water within 24 hours.

(9) The operator shall maintain records of the landfarm's remediation activities in a form readily accessible for division inspection.

(10) The division's environmental bureau may approve other treatment procedures if the operator demonstrates that they provide equivalent protection for fresh water, public health and the environment.

D. Treatment zone monitoring. The operator shall spread contaminated soils on the surface in eight-inch or less lifts or approximately 1000 cubic yards per acre per eight-inch lift. The operator shall conduct treatment zone monitoring to ensure that prior to adding an additional lift the TPH concentration of each lift, as determined by EPA SW-846 method 8015M or EPA method 418.1 or other EPA method approved by the division, does not exceed 2500 mg/kg and that the chloride concentration, as determined by EPA method 300.1, does not exceed 500 mg/kg if the landfarm is located where ground water is less than 100 feet but at least 50 feet below the lowest elevation at which the operator will place oil field waste or 1000 mg/kg if the landfarm is located where ground water is 100 feet or more below the lowest elevation at which the operator will place oil field waste. The operator shall collect and analyze at least one composite soil sample, consisting of four discrete samples, from the treatment zone at least semi-annually using the methods specified below for TPH and chlorides. The maximum thickness of treated soils in a landfarm cell shall not exceed two feet or approximately 3000 cubic yards per acre. When that thickness is reached, the operator shall not place additional oil field waste in the landfarm cell until it has demonstrated by monitoring the treatment zone at least semi-annually that the contaminated soil has been treated to the standards specified in Subsection F of 19.15.36.15 NMAC or the contaminated soils have been removed to a division-approved surface waste management facility.

E. Vadose zone monitoring.

(1) Sampling. The operator shall monitor the vadose zone beneath the treatment zone in each landfarm cell. The operator shall take the vadose zone samples from soils between three and four feet below the cell's original ground surface.

(2) Semi-annual monitoring program. The operator shall collect and analyze a minimum of four randomly selected, independent samples from the vadose zone at least semi-annually using the methods specified below for TPH, BTEX and chlorides and shall compare each result to the higher of the PQL or the background soil concentrations to determine whether a release has occurred.

(3) Five year monitoring program. The operator shall collect and analyze a minimum of four randomly selected, independent samples from the vadose zone, using the methods specified below for the constituents listed in Subsections A and B of 20.6.2.3103 NMAC at least every five years and shall compare each result to the higher of the PQL or the background soil concentrations to determine whether a release has occurred.

(4) Record keeping. The operator shall maintain a copy of the monitoring reports in a form readily accessible for division inspection.

(5) Release response. If vadose zone sampling results show that the concentrations of TPH, BTEX or chlorides exceed the higher of the PQL or the background soil concentrations, then the operator shall notify the division's environmental bureau of the exceedance, and shall immediately collect and analyze a minimum of four randomly selected, independent samples for TPH, BTEX, chlorides and the constituents listed in Subsections A and B of 20.6.2.3103 NMAC. The operator shall submit the results of the re-sampling event and a response action plan for the division's approval within 45 days of the initial notification. The response action plan shall address changes in the landfarm's operation to prevent further contamination and, if necessary, a plan for remediating existing contamination.

F. Treatment zone closure performance standards. After the operator has filled a landfarm cell to the maximum thickness of two feet or approximately 3000 cubic yards per acre, the operator shall continue treatment until the contaminated soil has been remediated to the higher of the background concentrations or the following closure performance standards. The operator shall demonstrate compliance with the closure performance standards by collecting and analyzing a minimum of one composite soil sample, consisting of four discrete samples.

(1) Benzene, as determined by EPA SW-846 method 8021B or 8260B, shall not exceed 0.2 mg/kg.

(2) Total BTEX, as determined by EPA SW-846 method 8021B or 8260B, shall not exceed 50 mg/kg.

(3) The GRO and DRO combined fractions, as determined by EPA SW-846 method 8015M, shall not exceed 500 mg/kg. TPH, as determined by EPA method 418.1 or other EPA method approved by the division, shall not exceed 2500 mg/kg.

(4) Chlorides, as determined by EPA method 300.1, shall not exceed 500 mg/kg if the landfarm is located where ground water is less than 100 feet but at least 50 feet below the lowest elevation at which the operator will place oil field waste or 1000 mg/kg if the landfarm is located where ground water is 100 feet or more below the lowest elevation at which the operator will place oil field waste.

(5) The concentration of constituents listed in Subsections A and B of 20.6.2.3103 NMAC shall be determined by EPA SW-846 methods 6010B or 6020 or other methods approved by the division. If the concentration of those constituents exceed the PQL or background concentration, the operator shall either perform a site specific risk assessment using EPA approved methods and shall propose closure standards based upon individual site conditions that protect fresh water, public health and the environment, which shall be subject to division approval or remove pursuant to Paragraph (2) of Subsection G of 19.15.36.15 NMAC.

G. Disposition of treated soils.

(1) If the operator achieves the closure performance standards specified in Subsection F of 19.15.36.15 NMAC, then the operator may either leave the treated soils in place, or, with prior division approval, dispose or reuse of the treated soils in an alternative manner.

(2) If the operator cannot achieve the closure performance standards specified in Subsection F of 19.15.36.15 NMAC within five years or as extended by the division, then the operator shall remove contaminated soils from the landfarm cell and properly dispose of it at a division-permitted landfill, or reuse or recycle it in a manner approved by the division.

(3) If the operator cannot achieve the closure performance standards specified in Subsection F of 19.15.36.15 NMAC within five years or as extended by the division, then the division may review the adequacy of the operator's financial assurance, as provided in Subsection G of 19.15.36.11 NMAC. In that event, the division may require the operator to modify its financial assurance to provide for the appropriate disposition of contaminated soil in a manner acceptable to the division.

(4) The operator may request approval of an alternative soil closure standard from the division, provided that the operator shall give division-approved public notice of an application for alternative soil closure standards in the manner provided in 19.15.36.9 NMAC. The division may grant the request administratively if no person files an objection thereto within 30 days after publication of notice; otherwise the division shall set the matter for hearing.

H. Environmentally acceptable bioremediation endpoint approach.

(1) A landfarm operator may use an environmentally acceptable bioremediation endpoint approach to landfarm management in lieu of compliance with the requirements of Paragraph (3) of Subsection F of 19.15.36.15 NMAC. The bioremediation endpoint occurs when TPH, as determined by EPA method 418.1 or other EPA method approved by the division, is reduced to a minimal concentration as a result of bioremediation and is dependent upon the bioavailability of residual hydrocarbons. An environmentally acceptable bioremediation endpoint occurs when the TPH concentration has been reduced by at least eighty percent by a combination of physical, biological and chemical processes and the rate of change in the reduction in the TPH concentration is negligible. The environmentally acceptable bioremediation endpoint in soil is determined statistically by the operator's demonstration that the rate of change in the reduction of TPH concentration is negligible.

(2) In addition to the requirements specified in Subsection C of 19.15.36.8 NMAC, an operator who plans to use an environmentally acceptable bioremediation endpoint approach shall submit for the division's review and approval a detailed landfarm operation plan for those landfarm cells exclusively dedicated to the use of the environmentally acceptable bioremediation endpoint approach. At a minimum, the operations plan shall include detailed information on the native soils, procedures to characterize each lift of contaminated soil, operating procedures and management procedures that the operator shall follow.

(3) In addition to other operational requirements specified in 19.15.36.15 NMAC, the operator using an environmentally acceptable bioremediation endpoint approach shall comply with the following.
(a) Native soil information required. The operator shall submit detailed information on the soil conditions present for each of its landfarm cells immediately prior to the application of the petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soils, including: treatment cell size, soil porosity, soil bulk density, soil pH, moisture content, field capacity, organic matter concentration, soil structure, SAR, EC, soil composition, soil temperature, soil nutrient (C:N:P) (calcium, nitrogen and phosphate) concentrations and oxygen content.

(b) Characterization of contaminated soil. The operator shall submit a description of the procedures that it will follow to characterize each lift of contaminated soil or drill cuttings, prior to treating each lift of contaminated soil or drill cuttings, for petroleum hydrocarbon loading factor, TPH, BTEX, chlorides, constituents listed in Subsections A and B of 20.6.2.3103 NMAC, contaminated soil moisture, contaminated soil pH and API gravity of the petroleum hydrocarbons.

(c) Operating procedures. The operator shall submit a description of the procedures, including a schedule, that it shall follow to properly monitor and amend each lift of contaminated soil in order to maximize bioremediation, including tilling procedures and schedule; procedures to limit petroleum hydrocarbon loading to less than five percent; procedures to maintain pH between six and eight; procedures to monitor and apply proper nutrients; procedures to monitor, apply and maintain moisture to sixty to eighty percent of field capacity; and procedures to monitor TPH concentrations.

(d) Management procedures. The operator shall submit a description of the management procedures that it shall follow to properly schedule landfarming operations, including modifications during cold weather, record keeping, sampling and analysis, statistical procedures, routine reporting, determination and reporting of achievement of the environmentally acceptable bioremediation endpoint and closure and post-closure plans.

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