New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 19 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND WILDLIFE
Chapter 15 - OIL AND GAS
Part 36 - SURFACE WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES
Section 19.15.36.18 - CLOSURE AND POST CLOSURE
Universal Citation: 19 NM Admin Code 19.15.36.18
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 24, December 23, 2024
A. Surface waste management facility closure by operator.
(1) The operator shall notify
the division's environmental bureau at least 60 days prior to cessation of
operations at the surface waste management facility and provide a proposed
schedule for closure. Upon receipt of such notice and proposed schedule, the
division shall review the current closure and post closure plan (post closure
is not required for oil treating plants) for adequacy and inspect the surface
waste management facility.
(2) The
division shall notify the operator within 60 days after the date of cessation
of operations specified in the operator's closure notice of modifications of
the closure and post closure plan and proposed schedule or additional
requirements that it determines are necessary for the protection of fresh
water, public health or the environment.
(3) If the division does not notify the
operator of additional closure or post closure requirements within 60 days as
provided, the operator may proceed with closure in accordance with the approved
closure and post closure plan; provided that the director may, for good cause,
extend the time for the division's response for an additional period not to
exceed 60 days by written notice to the operator.
(4) The operator shall be entitled to a
hearing concerning a modification or additional requirement the division seeks
to impose if it files an application for a hearing within 10 days after receipt
of written notice of the proposed modifications or additional
requirements.
(5) Closure shall
proceed in accordance with the approved closure and post closure plan and
schedule and modifications or additional requirements the division imposes.
During closure operations the operator shall maintain the surface waste
management facility to protect fresh water, public health and the
environment.
(6) Upon completion of
closure, the operator shall re-vegetate the site unless the division has
approved an alternative site use plan as provided in Subsection F of
19.15.36.18 NMAC. Re-vegetation,
except for landfill cells, shall consist of establishment of a vegetative cover
equal to seventy percent of the native perennial vegetative cover (un-impacted
by overgrazing, fire or other intrusion damaging to native vegetation) or
scientifically documented ecological description consisting of at least three
native plant species, including at least one grass, but not including noxious
weeds, and maintenance of that cover through two successive growing
seasons.
B. Release of financial assurance.
(1) When the division
determines that closure is complete it shall release the financial assurance,
except for the amount needed to maintain monitoring wells for the applicable
post closure care period, to perform semi-annual analyses of such monitoring
wells and to re-vegetate the site. Prior to the partial release of the
financial assurance covering the surface waste management facility, the
division shall inspect the site to determine that closure is
complete.
(2) After the applicable
post closure care period has expired, the division shall release the remainder
of the financial assurance if the monitoring wells show no contamination and
the re-vegetation in accordance with Paragraph (6) of Subsection A of
19.15.36.18 NMAC is successful. If
monitoring wells or other monitoring or leak detection systems reveal
contamination during the surface waste management facility's operation or in
the applicable post closure care period following the surface waste management
facility's closure the division shall not release the financial assurance until
the contamination is remediated in accordance with 19.15.30 NMAC and 19.15.29
NMAC, as applicable.
(3) In any
event, the division shall not finally release the financial assurance until it
determines that the operator has successfully re-vegetated the site in
accordance with Paragraph (6) of Subsection A of
19.15.36.18 NMAC, or, if the
division has approved an alternative site use plan, until the landowner has
obtained the necessary regulatory approvals and begun implementation of the
use.
C. Surface waste management facility and cell closure and post closure standards. The following minimum standards shall apply to closure and post closure of the installations indicated, whether the entire surface waste management facility is being closed or only a part of the surface waste management facility.
(1) Oil treating plant closure. The operator
shall ensure that:
(a) tanks and equipment
used for oil treatment are cleaned and oil field waste is disposed of at a
division-approved surface waste management facility (the operator shall reuse,
recycle or remove tanks and equipment from the site within 90 days of
closure);
(b) the site is sampled,
in accordance with the procedures specified in chapter nine of EPA publication
SW-846, test methods for evaluating solid waste, physical/chemical methods, for
TPH, BTEX, major cations and anions and RCRA metals, in accordance with a
gridded plat of the site containing at least four equal sections that the
division has approved; and
(c)
sample results are submitted to the environmental bureau in the division's
Santa Fe office.
(2)
Landfill cell closure.
(a) The operator shall
properly close landfill cells, covering the cell with a top cover pursuant to
Paragraph (8) of Subsection C of
19.15.36.14 NMAC, with soil
contoured to promote drainage of precipitation; side slopes shall not exceed a
twenty-five percent grade (four feet horizontal to one foot vertical), such
that the final cover of the landfill's top portion has a gradient of two
percent to five percent, and the slopes are sufficient to prevent the ponding
of water and erosion of the cover material.
(b) The operator shall re-vegetate the area
overlying the cell with native grass covering at least seventy percent of the
landfill cover and surrounding areas, consisting of at least two grasses and
not including noxious weeds or deep rooted shrubs or trees, and maintain that
cover through the post closure period.
(3) Landfill post closure. Following landfill
closure, the post closure care period for a landfill shall be 30 years.
(a) A post closure care and monitoring plan
shall include maintenance of cover integrity, maintenance and operation of a
leak detection system and leachate collection and removal system and operation
of gas and ground water monitoring systems.
(b) The operator or other responsible entity
shall sample existing ground water monitoring wells annually and submit reports
of monitoring performance and data collected within 45 days after the end of
each calendar year. The operator shall report any exceedance of a ground water
standard that it discovers during monitoring pursuant to 19.15.29
NMAC.
(4) Landfarm
closure. The operator shall ensure that:
(a)
disking and addition of bioremediation enhancing materials continues until
soils within the cells are remediated to the standards provided in Subsection F
of 19.15.36.15 NMAC, or as otherwise
approved by the division;
(b) soils
remediated to the foregoing standards and left in place are re-vegetated in
accordance with Paragraph (6) of Subsection A of
19.15.36.18 NMAC;
(c) landfarmed soils that have not been or
cannot be remediated to the standards in Subsection F of
19.15.36.15 NMAC are removed to a
division-approved surface waste management facility and the landfarm
remediation area is filled in with native soil and re-vegetated in accordance
with Paragraph (6) of Subsection A of
19.15.36.18 NMAC;
(d) if treated soils are removed, the cell is
filled in with native soils and re-vegetated in accordance with Paragraph (6)
of Subsection A of
19.15.36.18 NMAC;
(e) berms are removed;
(f) buildings, fences, roads and equipment
are removed, the site cleaned-up and tests conducted on the soils for
contamination;
(g) annual reports
of vadose zone and treatment zone sampling are submitted to the division's
environmental bureau until the division has approved the surface waste
management facility's final closure; and
(h) for an operator who chooses to use the
landfarm methods specified in Subsection H of
19.15.36.15 NMAC, that the soil
has an ECs of less than or equal to 4.0 mmhos/cm (dS/m) and a SAR of less than
or equal to 13.0.
D. Pond and pit closure. The operator shall ensure that:
(1) liquids in the ponds or pits
are removed and disposed of in a division-approved surface waste management
facility;
(2) liners are disposed
of in a division-approved surface waste management facility;
(3) equipment associated with the surface
waste management facility is removed;
(4) the site is sampled, in accordance with
the procedures specified in chapter nine of EPA publication SW-846, test
methods for evaluating solid waste, physical/chemical methods for TPH, BTEX,
metals and other inorganics listed in Subsections A and B of
20.6.2.3103 NMAC, in accordance
with a gridded plat of the site containing at least four equal sections that
the division has approved; and
(5)
sample results are submitted to the environmental bureau in the division's
Santa Fe office.
E. Landfarm and pond and pit post closure. The post-closure care period for a landfarm or pond or pit shall be three years if the operator has achieved clean closure. During that period the operator or other responsible entity shall regularly inspect and maintain required re-vegetation. If there has been a release to the vadose zone or to ground water, then the operator shall comply with the applicable requirements of 19.15.30 NMAC and 19.15.29 NMAC.
F. Alternatives to re-vegetation. If the landowner contemplates use of the land where a cell or surface waste management facility is located for purposes inconsistent with re-vegetation, the landowner may, with division approval, implement an alternative surface treatment appropriate for the contemplated use, provided that the alternative treatment will effectively prevent erosion. If the division approves an alternative to re-vegetation, it shall not release the portion of the operator's financial assurance reserved for post-closure until the landowner has obtained necessary regulatory approvals and begun implementation of such alternative use.
G. Surface waste management facility closure initiated by the division. Forfeiture of financial assurance.
(1) For good cause, the division may, after
notice to the operator and an opportunity for a hearing, order immediate
cessation of a surface waste management facility's operation when it appears
that cessation is necessary to protect fresh water, public health or the
environment, or to assure compliance with statutes or division rules and
orders. The division may order closure without first having a hearing in the
event of an emergency, subject to Section 70-2 -23 NMSA 1978, as amended.
(2) If the operator refuses or is
unable to conduct operations at a surface waste management facility in a manner
that protects fresh water, public health and the environment; refuses or is
unable to conduct or complete an approved closure and post closure plan; is in
material breach of the terms and conditions of its surface waste management
facility permit; or the operator defaults on the conditions under which the
division accepted the surface waste management facility's financial assurance;
or if disposal operations have ceased and there has been no significant
activity at the surface waste management facility for six months the division
may take the following actions to forfeit all or part of the financial
assurance:
(a) send written notice by
certified mail, return receipt requested, to the operator and the surety, if
any, informing them of the decision to close the surface waste management
facility and to forfeit the financial assurance, including the reasons for the
forfeiture and the amount to be forfeited, and notifying the operator and
surety that a hearing request or other response shall be made within 20 days of
receipt of the notice; and
(b)
advise the operator and surety of the conditions under which they may avoid the
forfeiture; such conditions may include but are not limited to an agreement by
the operator or another party to perform closure and post closure operations in
accordance with the surface waste management facility permit conditions, the
closure and post closure plan (including modifications or additional
requirements imposed by the division) and division rules, and satisfactory
demonstration that the operator or other party has the ability to perform such
agreement.
(3) The
division may allow a surety to perform closure and post closure if the surety
can demonstrate an ability to timely complete the closure and post closure in
accordance with the approved plan.
(4) If the operator and the surety do not
respond to a notice of proposed forfeiture within the time provided, or fail to
satisfy the specified conditions for non-forfeiture, the division shall
proceed, after hearing if the operator or surety has timely requested a
hearing, to declare the financial assurance's forfeiture. The division may then
proceed to collect the forfeited amount and use the funds to complete the
closure and post closure, or, at the division's election, to close the surface
waste management facility and collect the forfeited amount as reimbursement.
(a) The division shall deposit amounts
collected as a result of forfeiture of financial assurance in the oil and gas
reclamation fund.
(b) In the event
the amount forfeited and collected is insufficient for closure and post
closure, the operator shall be liable for the deficiency. The division may
complete or authorize completion of closure and post closure and may recover
from the operator reasonably incurred costs of closure and post closure and
forfeiture in excess of the amount collected pursuant to the forfeiture.
(c) In the event the amount
collected pursuant to the forfeiture was more than the amount necessary to
complete closure and post closure, including remediation costs, and forfeiture
costs, the division shall return the excess to the operator or surety, as
applicable, reserving such amount as may be reasonably necessary for post
closure operations and re-vegetation in accordance with Paragraph (6) of
Subsection A of
19.15.36.18 NMAC. The division
shall return excess of the amount retained over the actual cost of post closure
operations and re-vegetation to the operator or surety at the later of the
conclusion of the applicable post closure period or when the site re-vegetation
in accordance with Paragraph (6) of Subsection A of
19.15.36.18 NMAC is
successful.
(5) If the
operator abandons the surface waste management facility or cannot fulfill the
conditions and obligations of the surface waste management facility permit or
division rules, after notice and an opportunity for hearing, the state of New
Mexico, its agencies, officers, employees, agents, contractors and other
entities designated by the state shall have all rights of entry into, over and
upon the surface waste management facility property, including all necessary
and convenient rights of ingress and egress with all materials and equipment to
conduct operation, termination and closure of the surface waste management
facility, including but not limited to the temporary storage of equipment and
materials, the right to borrow or dispose of materials and all other rights
necessary for the surface waste management facility's operation, termination
and closure in accordance with the surface waste management facility permit and
to conduct post closure operations.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Mexico may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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