New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 20 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 7 - WASTEWATER AND WATER SUPPLY FACILITIES › Part 3 - LIQUID WASTE DISPOSAL AND TREATMENT › Section 20.7.3.201 - PROCEDURES; GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A. Every owner shall be responsible for the
				storing, treating and disposing of liquid waste generated on that property.
				Every owner shall be responsible for ensuring that the liquid waste system on
				that property and any excavation related to the liquid waste system do not pose
				a public safety hazard.
B. No
				person shall discharge untreated liquid waste except into a permitted and
				approved enclosed system, a permitted and approved liquid waste treatment unit
				or a public sewer system, except for the discharge of graywater pursuant to
				20.7.3.810 NMAC. All liquid waste systems installed in accordance with a liquid
				waste permit issued by the department prior to July 1, 2012 shall be deemed to
				have operational approval. No person shall discharge liquid waste or effluent
				into a cesspool or effluent disposal well.
C. No person shall discharge effluent from a
				liquid waste treatment unit except through a permitted and approved liquid
				waste disposal system or to a permitted public sewer system. No person shall
				discharge effluent from a liquid waste treatment unit to a cesspool or effluent
				disposal well.
D. No person shall
				install, have installed, modify or have modified, own, operate or use an
				on-site liquid waste system that, by itself or in combination with other
				on-site liquid waste systems, may cause a hazard to public health or degrade
				any body of water. All on-site liquid waste systems shall be installed,
				operated and maintained in accordance with the permit and applicable
				regulations.
E. All residential and
				commercial units utilizing an on-site liquid waste system shall connect to a
				public sewer upon availability and if required in accordance with the local
				authority that has jurisdiction. A public sewer shall be deemed available when
				the public sewer has capacity and is located in any thoroughfare, right-of-way
				or easement abutting the lot on which the residential or commercial unit is
				located. The on-site liquid waste system shall be properly abandoned in
				accordance with 20.7.3.307 NMAC within 30 days of connection to the public
				sewer.
F. The type of on-site
				liquid waste system shall be determined on the basis of location, lot size,
				soil and site characteristics. The system, except as otherwise approved, shall
				consist of a liquid waste treatment unit and associated disposal
				system.
G. An on-site liquid waste
				system shall be located wholly on the same lot, which is the site of the source
				or sources served by the on-site liquid waste system.
H. A privy may be used for the disposal of
				human excreta and toilet paper, but not for the disposal of other liquid
				wastes.
I. On-site liquid waste
				systems, other than holding tanks, receiving waste from recreational vehicles
				(RVs) shall provide treatment of the waste to concentrations equal to or less
				than primary treatment standards as defined in Paragraph (7), Subsection P of
				20.7.3.7 NMAC, if necessary, prior to discharging to a conventional disposal
				system. Monitoring of the effluent may be required in accordance with
				20.7.3.901 NMAC. Existing permitted on-site liquid waste systems receiving
				waste from recreational vehicles (RVs) shall continue to be authorized to
				operate. Upon modification of these existing systems, the system shall be
				required to provide the level of treatment of the waste identified above. This
				subsection shall not apply to homeowners who occasionally empty waste from one
				personal RV into the on-site liquid waste system serving their residence,
				provided that the RV is not used as a permanent living quarters.
J. On-site liquid waste systems permitted,
				but not installed, prior to the effective date of 20.7.3 NMAC shall be
				installed in accordance with the regulations in effect at the time of the
				permit issuance, provided that the installation of the system shall be
				completed within one year of the effective date of 20.7.3 NMAC.
K. Existing on-site liquid waste systems
				shall meet the regulations in effect at the time of their initial installation
				or subsequent modification or the current regulation, whichever is less
				stringent, unless otherwise noted in this regulation.
L. Nothing contained in 20.7.3 NMAC shall be
				construed to prevent the department from requiring compliance with more
				stringent requirements than those contained herein, where the department finds
				that such more stringent requirements are necessary to prevent a hazard to
				public health or the degradation of a body of water. The following parameters
				may be considered when determining if a body of water is potentially vulnerable
				to degradation from liquid waste effluents, and if more stringent requirements
				may be necessary to prevent such degradation:
(1) a water-table aquifer (includes both
				unconfined and semi-confined conditions) with a vadose zone thickness of 100
				feet or less containing no soil or rock formation that would act as a barrier
				to saturated or unsaturated wastewater flow;
(2) sites within 1/4 mile of a known
				groundwater plume of anthropogenic anoxic or nitrate contamination caused by
				migration through undisturbed vadose zone, provided that the site overlies the
				same aquifer;
(3) an aquifer
				overlain by fractured bedrock;
(4)
				an aquifer in karst terrain; and
(5) a gaining stream or other body of water
				adversely affected by nutrients from liquid waste systems.