The 2015 Legislature will consider legislation crafted by ES-CA and drafted by Representative Jim Smith, and according to Jim, Senator John Sapien has asked that he be included as a co-sponsor. This legislation is important not only to the health and welfare of Placitans, but to other New Mexicans that cannot locally defend their well-being against well-funded mining operators and their lawyers.
There are two Bill drafts. The, Zoning Enforcement law would bolster a County’s ability to administratively enforce its zoning laws in regards to gravel mining violations. Sandoval County interprets NM Statute 4-37-3 NMSA 1978 to limit penalty to a mine that has violations, such as Fisher or Vulcan (previously Lafarge), to a one time fine of $300. Bernalillo County interprets the same statute to allow the penalty per violation and per day which significantly increases its ability to enforce a violation. Still, with substantial daily profits out of mines like Vulcan’s, even if the penalty were assessed daily, it may not represent even 1/100th of a mine’s daily revenues. The proposed legislation clarifies that stated fines related to gravel mining are per violation and per day. The fines are also increased to $1,000 per violation and jail time of up to a year.
The Gravel Mining Law would increase oversight by bringing gravel mines with five acres or more of active working area under the Mining Act. This would not prohibit a small operator from mining five acres, reclaiming, and then mining another five acres. Currently, gravel mining is excluded from the Mining Act, so mega mines, such as the several we have in the Placitas area, are excluded from many of the environmental and health safeguards required of other large mines. A few of the safeguards they are currently excluded from include water discharge plans, off-site storm water control, reclamation, and periodic re-permitting to ensure they are not causing harm. While some safeguards can be imposed by county or municipal ordinances, if a mine is on BLM land, local ordinances do not apply and there is a lot of BLM land surrounding Placitas. If this Bill becomes law, the Mining Act will also protections to BLM lands and their nearby communities, like Placitas,
The New Mexico Legislature starts January 20th and runs through March 21st. ES-CA will announce when these bills will be heard in committees. New Mexico Legislators have a greater tendency to seriously consider bills when citizens turn out to be heard. Please plan to attend all committee hearings and show your support.