New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 20 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 3 - RADIATION PROTECTION › Part 14 - NATURALLY OCCURRING RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS (NORM) IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY › Section 20.3.14.7 - DEFINITIONS

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A. "Accessible
				point" means any external location on a piece of equipment, or place on a
				facility where NORM or Regulated NORM may be present. This includes any
				internal location which can be reached through an opening, by removal of a
				plate, lid or hatch or which is made accessible as a result of structural
				modification;
B. "Centralized
				facility" means a facility that is operated by one person or more than one
				person under an operating agreement for the purpose of disposing of Regulated
				NORM generated exclusively by that person or persons. This definition does not
				include plugged and abandoned wells and-or Underground Injection Control (UIC)
				wells used for disposal of Regulated NORM as provided in 1407.D.3 and
				4,[Paragraph (3) and (4), Subsection D., Section 1407 of 20.3.14.1407
				NMAC].
C. "Commercial facility"
				means any facility that receives compensation to receive, store, treat and-or
				dispose of Regulated NORM pursuant to applicable Department and Division rules
				and regulations;
D.
				"Decontamination" means the removal of media containing Regulated NORM from
				equipment or facilities solely for the intended purpose of reducing levels of
				radiation to levels below Regulated NORM levels in order to release equipment,
				materials, or land for unrestricted use in accordance with these
				regulations;
E. "Department" means
				the New Mexico Environment Department or its designated
				representative(s);
F. "Division"
				means the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division or its designated
				representative(s);
G. "Equipment"
				means tubulars (i.e., pipe), wellheads, separators, tanks, condensers, or any
				other related apparatus that have been in contact with produced gas or fluids
				associated with the oil and gas industry;
H. "Facility" means any land or structures,
				including appurtenances, and improvements on land or water used in or related
				to the oil and gas industry;
I.
				"General environment" means the total terrestrial, atmospheric, and aquatic
				environments outside the boundary of a facility;
J. "Naturally occurring radioactive material
				(NORM)" means any nuclide which is radioactive in its natural physical state
				(i.e., not manmade) but does not include byproduct, source or special nuclear
				material;
K. "Oil and Gas Industry"
				means any person(s) engaged in exploring, producing, gathering, trading,
				servicing, supplying, refining, and transporting of crude hydrocarbons, or
				their by-products and waste, or facilities associated with such
				activities;
L. "Produced water"
				means those waters produced in conjunction with the production of crude oil
				and-or natural gas and commonly collected at field storage, processing or
				disposal facilities, including, but not limited to: lease tanks, commingled
				tank batteries, burn pits, LACT units, dehydrators and community or lease salt
				water disposal systems, and which may be collected at gas processing plants,
				pipeline drips and other processing or transportation facilities;
M. "Product" means something produced, made,
				manufactured, refined, or beneficiated;
N. "Regulated NORM" means NORM contained in
				any oil-field soils, equipment, sludges or any other materials related to
				oil-field operations or processes exceeding the radiation levels specified in
				1403 [Section 1403 of 20.3.14.1403 NMAC];
O. "Storage" means the collection and
				containment of Regulated NORM for the purpose of and prior to disposal. Storage
				does not include the accumulation of Regulated NORM in operating vessels;
				and
P. "Treatment" means any
				commercial method, technique, or process, including neutralization, designed to
				change the physical, chemical form or composition of Regulated NORM. This
				definition does not refer to treatment as defined in the Resource Conservation
				Recovery Act (RCRA), nor does it refer to processing of Regulated NORM for
				disposal in plugged and abandoned wells.