New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 19 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND WILDLIFE
Chapter 8 - COAL MINING
Part 10 - REQUIREMENTS FOR PERMITS FOR SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF MINING
Section 19.8.10.1005 - VARIANCES FOR DELAY IN CONTEMPORANEOUS RECLAMATION REQUIRED IN COMBINED SURFACE AND UNDERGROUND MINING OPERATIONS
Universal Citation: 19 NM Admin Code 19.8.10.1005
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A. Application contents for variances. Any person who desires to obtain a variance under this section shall file with the director complete applications for both the surface mining activities and underground mining activities which are to be combined. The mining and reclamation operation plans for these permits shall contain appropriate narratives, maps and plans, which:
(1) show
why the proposed underground mining activities are necessary or desirable to
assure maximum practical recovery of coal;
(2) show how multiple future disturbances of
surface lands or waters will be avoided;
(3) identify the specific surface areas for
which a variance is sought and the particular sections of the act and 19.8 NMAC
from which a variance is being sought;
(4) show how the activities will comply with
19.8.21 NMAC and other applicable requirements of the act and 19.8
NMAC;
(5) show why the variance
sought is necessary for the implementation of the proposed underground mining
activities;
(6) provide an
assessment of the adverse environmental consequences and damages, if any, that
will result if the reclamation of surface mining activities is delayed;
and
(7) show how off-site storage
of spoil will be conducted to comply with 19.8.20.2034 through 2037 NMAC, the
requirements of the act and 19.8 NMAC.
B. Issuance of permit. A permit incorporating a variance under this section may be issued by the director, if he first finds, in writing, upon the basis of a complete application filed in accordance with this section, that:
(1) the applicant has
presented, as part of the permit application, specific, feasible plans for the
proposed underground mining activities;
(2) the proposed underground mining
activities are necessary or desirable to assure maximum practical recovery of
the mineral resource and will avoid multiple future disturbances of surface
land or waters;
(3) the applicant
has satisfactorily demonstrated that the applications for the surface mining
activities and underground mining activities conform to the requirements of the
act and 19.8 NMAC and that all other permits necessary for the underground
mining activities have been issued by the appropriate authority;
(4) the surface area of surface mining
activities proposed for the variance have been shown by the applicant to be
necessary for implementing the proposed underground mining
activities;
(5) no substantial
adverse environmental damage, either on-site or off-site, will result from the
delay in completion of reclamation otherwise required by Paragraph (16) of
Subsection B of Section
69-25A-19
NMSA 1978 of the act, 19.8.20 NMAC and 19.8 NMAC;
(6) the operations will, insofar as a
variance is authorized, be conducted in compliance with the requirements of
19.8.21 NMAC and 19.8 NMAC;
(7)
provisions for off-site storage of spoil will comply with the requirements of
Paragraph (22) of Subsection B of Section
69-25A-19
NMSA 1978 of the act, 19.8.20.2034 through 2037 NMAC and 19.8 NMAC;
(8) liability under the performance bond
required to be filed by the applicant with the director pursuant to 19.8.14
NMAC, the act and 19.8 NMAC shall be for the duration of the underground mining
activities and until all requirements of 19.8.14 NMAC and the act and 19.8 NMAC
have been complied with; and
(9)
the permit for the surface mining activities contains specific conditions:
(a) delineating the particular surface areas
for which a variance is authorized;
(b) identifying the particular requirements
of 19.8.21 NMAC, the act and 19.8 NMAC which are to be complied with, in lieu
of the otherwise applicable provisions of Subsection B of Section
69-25A-19
NMSA 1978 of the act, 19.8.20 NMAC and 19.8 NMAC; and
(c) providing a detailed schedule for
compliance with the particular requirements of 19.8.21 NMAC, the act and 19.8
NMAC identified under Subparagraph (b) of Paragraph (9) of Subsection B of
19.8.10.1005 NMAC.
C. Review of permits containing variances. Variances granted under permits issued under this section shall be reviewed by the director no later than 3 years from the dates of issuance of the permit and any permit renewals.
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