New Mexico Register / Volume XXXII, Issue 4 / February 23,
2021
NOTICE OF PUBLIC
HEARING FOR PROPOSED RULEMAKING
The
State of New Mexico through the Oil Conservation Commission (OCC) hereby gives
notice that the OCC will hold a public hearing to consider proposed amendments
to 19.15.29.6 NMAC and 19.15.29.8 NMAC to prohibit unauthorized spills or
releases of oil, gas, produced water, and other oil and gas waste. The public
hearing will be held on-line and by telephone on April 1 and 8-9, 2021 and will
be continued to the day(s) following April 9, 2021, if not completed.
Purpose of Proposed Rule Amendments. The proposed rule amendments seek to
prohibit unauthorized spills or releases of oil, gas, produced water, and other
oil and gas waste, placing enforcement of the proposed prohibition within the
power of the Oil Conservation Division (OCD).
Summary
of Proposed Rule Amendments. The OCC will consider proposed amendments
to 19.15.29.6 and 19.15.29.8 NMAC to prohibit the unauthorized release of oil,
gas, produced water, and other oil and gas waste, and to provide the OCD with
authority to enforce the prohibition.
Legal
Authority. The proposed
rule amendments are authorized by the Oil and Gas Act, Sections 70-2-1 through
70-2-38 NMSA 1978, including Section 70-2-6 (authorizing the OCC to exercise
jurisdiction, authority, and control of and over all persons, matters, and
things necessary or proper to enforce the statute), Section 70-2-11
(authorizing the OCC to make rules to prevent waste, protect correlative
rights, and to do whatever may be reasonably necessary to implement the
statute), Section 70-2-12 (enumerating the powers of the OCC and OCD), and
Section 70-2-12(B)(15), (21), and (22) (specifically authorizing OCD to
regulate produced water to protect public health, the environment, and fresh
water resources and to regulate the disposition non-domestic wastes). The
public hearing is governed by the OCC’s rule on rulemaking proceedings, 19.15.3
NMAC.
Availability of Proposed Rule Amendments. The full text of
the proposed rule amendments is available on the OCD’s website, http://ocdimage.emnrd.state.nm.us/Imaging/FileStore/santafeadmin/cf/20201022/21529_10_22_2020_01_36_50.pdf
or
by contacting the OCC Clerk, Florene Davidson at florene.davidson@state.nm.us.
Written Comments. Any person may submit written comments on
the proposed rule amendments no later than April 26, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. by
mail, email, or delivery to the OCC Clerk, Florene Davidson, Wendell Chino
Building, 1220 South St. Francis Drive, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505, or florene.davidson@state.nm.us.
To deliver written comments to the OCC Clerk, upon arrival at the building, call
(505) 476-3200 ext. 1, and an OCC representative will come to the front door.
Scheduling
Order. The OCC shall
adopt a procedural order, which will be viewable at http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/OCD/outreach.html.
Public Hearing. The OCC will hear public comment and consider
adoption of the proposed rule amendments at a public hearing to be held online
and by telephone on April 1, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. and April 8-9, 2021, and
continued to the following day(s) if not completed. The hearing will be
transcribed and recorded. To access the hearing on-line via the Webex platform
and by telephone:
Event: OCC Meeting
April 1, 2021
Event
address for attendees: https://nmemnrd.webex.com/nmemnrd/onstage/g.php?MTID=e835db791b966414746e5166f9de9c140
Event
address for panelists:
https://nmemnrd.webex.com/nmemnrd/onstage/g.php?MTID=e6b9d85a516bbaef5dfea3dd62f1bf274
Date
and time:
Thursday, April 1, 2021 9:00 am Mountain Daylight Time (Denver, GMT-06:00)
Event
number:
187 621 7254
Event
password:
upY7phnrb53
Host
key:
411050
Panelist
numeric password:
199054
Video
Address:
1876217254@nmemnrd.webex.com. You can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter your
meeting number.
Audio
conference:
To receive a call back, provide your phone number when you join the event, or
call the number below and enter the access code.
United
States Toll
+1-408-418-9388
Show
all global call-in numbers
Access
code:
187 621 7254
Event: OCC Meeting
April 8, 2021
Event
address for attendees:
https://nmemnrd.webex.com/nmemnrd/onstage/g.php?MTID=ef79d182f60e517c745e281cc0b9d6c73
Event
address for panelists:
https://nmemnrd.webex.com/nmemnrd/onstage/g.php?MTID=edc5cf0006d0c6ea092082d60c57591e4
Date
and time:
Thursday, April 8, 2021 9:00 am Mountain Daylight Time (Denver, GMT-06:00)
Event
number:
187 600 1792
Event
password:
aJP5zfbEh85
Host
key:
497019
Panelist
numeric password:
137128
Video
Address:
1876001792@nmemnrd.webex.com. You can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter your
meeting number.
Audio
conference:
To receive a call back, provide your phone number when you join the event, or
call the number below and enter the access code.
United
States Toll
+1-408-418-9388
Show
all global call-in numbers
Access
code:
187 600 1792
Event: OCC Meeting
April 9, 2021
Event
address for attendees:
https://nmemnrd.webex.com/nmemnrd/onstage/g.php?MTID=ea5307b31cd4d5cc30f81d5250fdd5c46
Event
address for panelists:
https://nmemnrd.webex.com/nmemnrd/onstage/g.php?MTID=eab272855b15b285b61eeae09ec3c2042
Date
and time:
Friday, April 9, 2021 9:00 am Mountain Daylight Time (Denver, GMT-06:00)
Event
number:
187 653 2336
Event
password:
7MWv4m6Gk7J
Host
key:
112914
Panelist
numeric password:
150497
Video
Address: 1876532336@nmemnrd.webex.com. You can also
dial 173.243.2.68 and enter your meeting number.
Audio
conference:
To receive a call back, provide your phone number when you join the event, or
call the number below and enter the access code.
United
States Toll
+1-408-418-9388
Show
all global call-in numbers
Access code: 187 653 2336
Proposed Modifications, Technical
Testimony, and Cross Examination. A person who intends
to propose a modification to the proposed rule amendments, to present technical
testimony at the public hearing, or to cross-examine witnesses at the public
hearing must file a Pre-Hearing Statement conforming to the requirements of
19.15.3.11(B) NMAC, per OCC’s Procedural Order, which can be found at http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/OCD/outreach.html.
The Pre-Hearing Statement must be filed by mail, email, or delivery to the OCC
Clerk, Florene Davidson, Wendell Chino Building, 1220 South St. Francis Drive,
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505, florene.davidson@state.nm.us. Six copies of any
hard copy filings are required, but multiple copies are not required for
electronically-filed documents. To deliver a Pre-Hearing Statement to the OCC
Clerk, upon arrival at the building, call (505) 476-3200 ext. 1, and an OCC representative
will come to the front door. A person who presents technical testimony at the
public hearing will be subject to cross-examination by the members of the OCC,
the OCC's counsel, and other persons who filed Pre-Hearing Statements.
Pre-Hearing Statements, including the exhibits that a party plans to offer as
evidence at the hearing, may be viewed at http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/OCD/ocdonline.html.
Oral Comments. A person who did not file a Pre-Hearing
Statement may present non-technical testimony or make an unsworn statement at
the public hearing. A person who wants to present non-technical testimony or
make an unsworn statement at the public hearing must inform the hearing
examiner. A person who presents non-technical testimony will be subject to
cross-examination by the members of the OCC, the OCC's counsel, and other
persons who filed Pre-Hearing Statements. A person may offer exhibits at the public
hearing if the exhibits are relevant to the proposed rule amendments and the
person files the original exhibit and five copies conforming to the
requirements of 19.15.3.12(C) NMAC prior the end of the public hearing. A
person may file exhibits by mail, email, or delivery to the OCC Clerk, Florene
Davidson, Wendell Chino Building, 1220 South St. Francis Drive, Santa Fe, New
Mexico 87505, florene.davidson@state.nm.us. To deliver exhibits to the OCC
Clerk, call (505) 476-3200 ext. 1, and an OCC representative will come to the
front door.
Deliberations. The OCC shall
not begin deliberations in this matter until the public comment period expires
on April 26, 2021, as required by Section 14-4-5(B) NMSA.
Persons with Disabilities. A person with a disability who needs a
reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter, or other form of
auxiliary aid or service, such as a summary or other accessible form of
document, to attend or participate in the public hearing, must contact the OCC
Clerk, Florene Davidson, at (505) 476-3458 or florene.davidson@state.nm.us, or through
the New Mexico Relay Network at 1-800-659-1779, no later than March 8, 2021.
Technical Information. The following technical information was
consulted for the proposed rule amendments:
Hydraulic
Fracturing for Oil and Gas: Impacts from the Hydraulic Fracturing Water Cycle
on Drinking Water Resources in the United States available
online at: www.epa.gov/hfstudy.