New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 20 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Chapter 1 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION GENERAL
Part 3 - ADJUDICATORY PROCEDURES - WATER QUALITY CONTROL COMMISSION
Section 20.1.3.20 - GENERAL HEARING PROCEDURES FOR ABATEMENT PLAN, VARIANCE AND COMPLIANCE ORDER HEARINGS

(1) Location of the hearing: Unless otherwise ordered by the commission or hearing officer, the hearing shall be in Santa Fe.

(2) Postponement of hearing: No request for postponement of a hearing shall be granted except upon consent of all parties or for good cause shown.

(1) The hearing officer shall conduct the hearing so as to provide a reasonable opportunity for all interested persons to be heard without making the hearing unreasonably lengthy or cumbersome or burdening the record with unnecessary repetition.

(2) The hearing officer shall establish the order of testimony except that the party with the burden of persuasion shall present its case first. The hearing officer may allow brief opening or closing statements.

(1) General: The hearing officer shall admit any relevant evidence, unless the hearing officer determines that the evidence is unduly repetitious or otherwise unreliable or of little probative value. Evidence relating to settlement that would be excluded in the courts under SCRA 1986, 11-408 is not admissible.

(2) Examination of witnesses: Witnesses shall be examined orally, under oath or affirmation, except as otherwise provided in this part or by the hearing officer. The commission, hearing officer, and parties shall have the right to cross-examine a witness. The hearing officer may limit cross-examination that is unduly repetitious, harassing or beyond the scope of the witness' direct testimony.

(3) Exhibits: All exhibits offered in evidence shall be marked with a designation identifying the person by whom the exhibit is offered, and numbered serially in the sequence in which offered. Large charts and diagrams, models, and other bulky exhibits are discouraged. Exhibits should be limited to 8 1/2 X 11 inches, or be capable of being folded to that size, unless otherwise necessary for adequate presentation of evidence.

(4) Official notice: Official notice may be taken of any matter that may be judicially noticed in the New Mexico courts.

(5) Preponderance of evidence: Each matter of controversy shall be determined upon a preponderance of the evidence.

(1) Objection: Any objection concerning the conduct of the hearing may be stated orally or in writing during the hearing. The party raising the objection must supply a short statement of its grounds. The ruling by the hearing officer on any objection and the reasons given for it shall be part of the record.

(2) Offer of proof: Whenever evidence is excluded from the record, the party offering the evidence may make an offer of proof, which shall be included in the record. The offer of proof for excluded oral testimony shall consist of a brief statement describing the nature of the evidence excluded and what such evidence would have proved. The offer of proof for excluded documents or exhibits shall consist of the insertion in the record of the documents or exhibits excluded. Where the commission decides that the ruling of the hearing officer in excluding the evidence was both erroneous and prejudicial, the hearing may be reopened to permit the taking of such evidence.