New Mexico Regulatory Program

We are approving a proposed amendment to the New Mexico regulatory program (the "New Mexico program") under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). New Mexico proposed revisions to and additions of rules about definitions, general environmental resource information, operations that may have an adverse impact on publicly owned parks or places listed on the National Register of Historic Places, bond release applications, termination of jurisdiction, prime farmland reclamation, inspection frequency of abandoned sites, hearings for charges of violation, the qualifying criteria for assistance under the small operator's program, areas where mining is prohibited or limited, criteria for designating areas unsuitable for surface coal mining, applications for and approval of coal exploration operations of more than 250 tons, criteria for permit approval or denial, application and approval criteria for demonstrating valid existing rights, the one square mile criterion in the definition of intermittent streams, and miscellaneous non-substantive editorial revisions. New Mexico revised its program to be consistent with the corresponding Federal regulations, provide additional safeguards, and clarify ambiguities.