New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 19 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND WILDLIFE
Chapter 8 - COAL MINING
Part 4 - PROCESS FOR DESIGNATING LANDS UNSUITABLE FOR SURFACE COAL MINING OPERATIONS
Section 19.8.4.401 - PROCEDURES: INITIAL PROCESSING, RECORD-KEEPING AND NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
Universal Citation: 19 NM Admin Code 19.8.4.401
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 6, March 26, 2024
A. Initial processing.
(1) Within 30 days of
receipt of a petition, the director shall notify the petitioner by certified
mail whether or not the petition is complete under Subsection B of 19.8.4.400
NMAC or Subsection C of 19.8.4.400 NMAC.
(2) The director shall determine whether any
identified coal resources exist in the area covered by the petition, without
requiring any showing from the petitioner. If the director finds there are not
any identified coal resources in that area, he shall return the petition to the
petitioner with a statement of the findings.
(3) The director may reject petitions for
designations or terminations of designations which are frivolous. Once the
requirements of 19.8.4.400 NMAC are met, no party shall bear any burden of
proof, but each accepted petition shall be considered and acted upon by the
director pursuant to the procedures of this part.
(4) When considering a petition for an area
which was previously and unsuccessfully proposed for designation, the director
shall determine if the new petition presents new allegations of facts. If the
petition does not contain new allegations of facts, the director shall not
consider the petition and shall return the petition to the petitioner, with a
statement of his findings and a reference to the record of the previous
designation proceedings where the facts were considered.
(5) If the director determines that the
petition is incomplete or frivolous, he shall return the petition to the
petitioner, with a written statement of the reasons for the determination and
the categories of information needed to make the petition complete.
(6) The director shall notify the person who
submits a petition of any application for a permit received which proposes to
include any area covered by the petition.
(7) Any petitions received after the close of
the public comment period on a permit application relating to the same mine
plan area shall not prevent the director from issuing a decision on that permit
application. The director may return any petition received thereafter to the
petitioner with a statement why the director cannot consider the petition. For
the purposes of this section, close of the public comment period shall mean at
the close of any informal conference held under 19.8.11.1103 NMAC, or, if no
conference is requested, at the close of the period for filing written comments
and objections under 19.8.11.1101 and 1102 NMAC.
B. Public notice.
(1) Promptly after a petition is received,
the director shall notify the general public of the receipt of the petition and
request submissions of relevant information by a newspaper advertisement placed
once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in
the county or counties in the area covered by the petition.
(2) Within three weeks after the
determination that a petition is complete, the director shall circulate copies
of the petition to, and request submissions of relevant information from other
interested governmental agencies, the petitioner, intervenors, persons with an
ownership interest of record in the property, other persons known to the
director to have an interest in the property, and shall notify the general
public, through the publication of a notice in the New Mexico state register,
of the receipt of a petition to designate lands unsuitable for
mining.
(3) Within three weeks
after the determination that a petition is complete, the director shall notify
the general public of the receipt of the petition and request submissions of
relevant information by a newspaper advertisement placed once a week for two
consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or
counties in the area covered by the petition.
C. Until three days before the director holds a hearing under 19.8.4.402 NMAC, any person may intervene in the proceeding by filing allegations of facts, supporting evidence, a short statement identifying the petition to which the allegations pertain, and the intervenor's name, address and telephone number.
D. Beginning immediately after a complete petition is filed, the director shall compile and maintain a record consisting of all documents relating to the petition filed with or prepared by the director. The director shall make the record available for public inspection free of charge, and copying at reasonable cost, during all normal business hours.
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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