N.M. Admin. Code § 19.11.2.16 - PERMIT CANCELLATION, TERMINATION AND MODIFICATION

A. The division shall automatically cancel any permit for any well that has been plugged and abandoned or any facility that has been closed in accordance with the requirements of 19.11.4 NMAC and the permit.

B. The division may terminate or modify a permit during its term, or deny a permit renewal application, by following the procedures in 19.11.2.12 NMAC, for the following causes:

(1) the permittee's noncompliance with any condition of the permit or 19.11.4 NMAC;

(2) the permittee's failure in the application or during the permit issuance process to disclose fully all relevant facts or the permittee's misrepresentation of any relevant facts at any time;

(3) a determination that the permitted activity has a reasonable likelihood to endanger life, health, property, natural resources (including geothermal and fresh water resources), the environment or the public welfare and can only be regulated to acceptable levels by permit modification or termination;

(4) a determination that the permitted activity is not protective of correlative rights of other geothermal resource leaseholders or owners;

(5) a determination that hazardous waste as defined in 40 CFR 261.3 is being injected into an injection well either because the definition has been revised, or because a previous determination has been changed.

C.The division may modify a permit for the following causes:

(1) there are material and substantial alterations or additions to the permitted well, facility or activity that occurred after permit issuance that justify the application of permit conditions that are different or absent in the existing permit;

(2)the director has received information that was not available at the time of permit issuance (other than revised regulations or rules, guidance or test methods) and would have justified the application of different permit conditions at the time of issuance, including, for geothermal facility permits, any information indicating that cumulative effects on the environment are unacceptable;

(3) the standards or regulations or rules on which the permit was based have been changed by promulgation of new or amended standards or regulations or rules or by judicial decision after the permit was issued;

(4) the director determines good cause exists for modification of a compliance schedule such as an act of God, strike, flood or materials shortage or other events over which the permittee has little or no control and for which there is no reasonably available remedy.

D. Interested persons may request that a permit be modified or terminated. However, the director may only modify or terminate permits for the reasons specified in Subsection B of 19.11.2.16 NMAC. If the director decides the request is not justified, he or she shall send the requestor a brief written response giving a reason for the decision. Denials of requests for modification or termination are not subject to public notice, comment or hearings.

E. If the director decides to modify a permit, the director shall issue a draft permit and publish notice pursuant to 19.11.2.12 NMAC and 19.11.2.13 NMAC.

Notes

N.M. Admin. Code § 19.11.2.16

Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXIX, Issue 04, February 27, 2018, eff. 2/27/2018