HOUSE BILL 142

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2023

INTRODUCED BY

Anthony Allison and Reena Szczepanski and Marian Matthews

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENT; ENACTING THE GENERATING FACILITY AND MINE REMEDIATION AND RESTORATION FOR PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT ACT; REQUIRING THE ENERGY, MINERALS AND NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT AND THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT TO INVESTIGATE, PLAN, OVERSEE, MONITOR AND ENFORCE THE REMEDIATION AND RESTORATION OF GENERATING FACILITIES AND MINES; PROVIDING FOR A DISPLACED WORKER PRIORITIZATION; PROVIDING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS; AUTHORIZING THE ENERGY, MINERALS AND NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT AND THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT TO HIRE OUTSIDE PROFESSIONALS TO ASSIST IN THE REMEDIATION AND RESTORATION OF GENERATING FACILITIES AND MINES; MAKING APPROPRIATIONS.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Generating Facility and Mine Remediation and Restoration for Public Health and the Environment Act".

     SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Generating Facility and Mine Remediation and Restoration for Public Health and the Environment Act:

          A. "closure" means the process of closing a mine or other industrial facility;

          B. "generating facility" means a coal-fired generating facility in New Mexico that may be composed of multiple generating units that:

                (1) was granted a certificate of public convenience and necessity and for which abandonment authority was granted after December 31, 2018;

                (2) is owned or leased, in whole or in part, by a public utility; and

                (3) was operated by a public utility and was abandoned prior to January 1, 2023;

          C. "public utility" means an investor-owned electric public utility as defined in the Public Utility Act;

          D. "reclamation" means the rehabilitation of mining-affected land to make it acceptable for designated purposes with protection of the natural resources and aesthetic value of adjoining areas;

          E. "remediation" means the process of reversing or stopping environmental damage;

          F. "resilience" means the capability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to and recover from impacts and minimize damage to social well-being, including damage to the economy, health and the environment;

          G. "restoration" means the process of restoring site conditions as they were before a land disturbance; and

          H. "toxic metal contaminants" means the federal environmental protection agency's twenty-one identified constituents of concern in coal ash residue leachate, for which the federal environmental protection agency requires ground water monitoring. These constituents include boron, calcium, chloride, pH, sulfate, total dissolved solids, antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, fluoride, lead, lithium, mercury, molybdenum, selenium, thallium and radium 226 and 228.

     SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] INSPECTION, INVESTIGATION AND DOCUMENTATION.--

          A. The energy, minerals and natural resources department and the department of environment shall coordinate efforts to:

                (1) perform a comprehensive inspection and investigation of a generating facility and mine to determine if there has been any environmental contamination of the land and waterways and prevent off-site pollution;

                (2) establish a plan for a public utility that involves community input and requires timely cleanup, full remediation and restoration of the entire generating facility and mine site to protect public health and welfare;

                (3) ensure public utility compliance through monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting requirements; the use of audits; investigations; or other measures; and

                (4) provide yearly updates to the legislature.

          B. No later than April 31, 2024, the energy, minerals and natural resources department and the department of environment shall provide a copy of the investigation to the legislature.

     SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] FULL REMEDIATION AND RESTORATION PLAN--CONTENTS.--Measurable steps contained in the cleanup, full remediation and restoration plan shall:

          A. be informed by input from impacted community members;

          B. ensure that toxic metal contaminants do not leach into the ground and leak into waterways or otherwise harm the public, animals or agriculture and cause negative public health consequences;

          C. create necessary closure provisions and corrective actions that include safe and appropriate disposal of waste, regular ground water monitoring and regular reporting available to the public on accessible internet websites. In order to make the data easier for the public to understand and evaluate, any and all regulatory reports from the energy, minerals and natural resources department and the department of environment should summarize results of the inspection, monitoring and enforcement in an executive summary; and

          D. create benefits for long-term resiliency by protecting the environment from contamination for human and animal health, ensuring clean water and property values and creating local community resilience.

     SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] CIVIL AND CRIMINAL ACTIONS.--

          A. The Generating Facility and Mine Remediation and Restoration for Public Health and the Environment Act does not prevent a person or entity that has been affected by pollution or contamination from a generating facility or mine from filing a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction.

          B. The energy, minerals and natural resources department and the department of environment may institute an administrative complaint or pursue violations against a public utility pursuant to a comprehensive investigation as provided in Section 3 of the Generating Facility and Mine Remediation and Restoration for Public Health and the Environment Act.

          C. The office of the attorney general may bring a civil action or pursue criminal charges pursuant to the energy, minerals and natural resources department's and the department of environment's comprehensive investigation as provided in Section 3 of the Generating Facility and Mine Remediation and Restoration for Public Health and the Environment Act.

          D. The Generating Facility and Mine Remediation and Restoration for Public Health and the Environment Act shall not be construed to preempt, limit or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy or standard.

     SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] EMPLOYMENT OF WORKERS.--In considering employment applications for hiring to effectuate cleanup at a generating facility or a mine, a public utility shall prioritize the use of workers who previously were employed there and workers residing in New Mexico to the greatest extent practicable and shall take that use into consideration in evaluating applicants. 

     SECTION 7. [NEW MATERIAL] AUTHORIZATION TO HIRE ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONALS TO ASSIST IN MINE REMEDIATION AND RESTORATION.--

          A. The energy, minerals and natural resources department and the department of environment are authorized to hire environmental engineers, hydrogeologists, geochemists and other professionals, including outside consultants, as needed to perform a rigorous inspection of a generating facility and mine to:

                (1) detect, assess, investigate and determine the extent of contamination; and

                (2) create a thorough plan for a generating facility's co-owners to remediate and prevent deleterious impacts on ground water with steady long-term measurable cleanup and performance standards.

          B. The energy, minerals and natural resources department and the department of environment are authorized to hire additional office support staff to assist in:

                (1) completing and submitting a comprehensive final report intended to ensure that there will be no reasonable probability of adverse effects to human health or the environment, particularly resulting from ground water contamination, by April 31, 2024; and

                (2) monitoring, overseeing and enforcing via recordkeeping and reporting requirements to ensure compliance.

     SECTION 8. [NEW MATERIAL] LIABILITY.--If any entity acquires a generating facility or mine, then it shall assume all liability for full remediation, reclamation and restoration. That entity shall provide evidence consistent with law of its solvency to cover the costs of full remediation, reclamation and restoration.

     SECTION 9. APPROPRIATION.--Three hundred fifty thousand dollars ($350,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the department of environment for expenditure in fiscal years 2024 and 2025 to carry out the purposes of the Generating Facility and Mine Remediation and Restoration for Public Health and the Environment Act. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2025 shall revert to the general fund.

     SECTION 10. APPROPRIATION.--Three hundred fifty thousand dollars ($350,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the energy, minerals and natural resources department for expenditure in fiscal years 2024 and 2025 to carry out the purposes of the Generating Facility and Mine Remediation and Restoration for Public Health and the Environment Act. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2025 shall revert to the general fund.

     SECTION 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2023.

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