New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 19 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND WILDLIFE › Chapter 15 - OIL AND GAS › Part 36 - SURFACE WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES › Section 19.15.36.15 - SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO LANDFARMS

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A. Oil field waste acceptance criteria. Only
				soils and drill cuttings predominantly contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons
				shall be placed in a landfarm. The division may approve placement of tank
				bottoms in a landfarm if the operator demonstrates that the tank bottoms do not
				contain economically recoverable petroleum hydrocarbons. Soils and drill
				cuttings placed in a landfarm shall be sufficiently free of liquid content to
				pass the paint filter test, and shall not have a chloride concentration
				exceeding 500 mg/kg if the landfarm is located where ground water is less than
				100 feet but at least 50 feet below the lowest elevation at which the operator
				will place oil field waste or exceeding 1000 mg/kg if the landfarm is located
				where ground water is 100 feet or more below the lowest elevation at which the
				operator will place oil field waste. The person tendering oil field waste for
				treatment at a landfarm shall certify, on form C-138, that representative
				samples of the oil field waste have been subjected to the paint filter test and
				tested for chloride content, and that the samples have been found to conform to
				these requirements. The landfarm's operator shall not accept oil field waste
				for landfarm treatment unless accompanied by this certification.
B. Background testing. Prior to beginning
				operation of a new landfarm or to opening a new cell at an existing landfarm at
				which the operator has not already established background, the operator shall
				take, at a minimum, 12 composite background soil samples, with each consisting
				of 16 discrete samples from areas that previous operations have not impacted at
				least six inches below the original ground surface, to establish background
				soil concentrations for the entire surface waste management facility. The
				operator shall analyze the background soil samples for TPH, as determined by
				EPA method 418.1 or other EPA method approved by the division; BTEX, as
				determined by EPA SW-846 method 8021B or 8260B; chlorides; and other
				constituents listed in Subsections A and B of
				20.6.2.3103
				NMAC, using approved EPA methods.
C. Operation and oil field waste treatment.
(1) The operator shall berm each landfarm
				cell to prevent rainwater run-on and run-off.
(2) The operator shall not place contaminated
				soils received after the effective date of 19.15.36 NMAC within 100 feet of the
				surface waste management facility's boundary.
(3) The operator shall not place contaminated
				soils received at a landfarm after the effective date of 19.15.36 NMAC within
				20 feet of a pipeline crossing the landfarm.
(4) With 72 hours after receipt, the operator
				shall spread and disk contaminated soils in eight-inch or less lifts or
				approximately 1000 cubic yards per acre per eight-inch lift or
				biopile.
(5) The operator shall
				ensure that soils are disked biweekly and biopiles are turned at least
				monthly.
(6) The operator shall add
				moisture, as necessary, to enhance bioremediation and to control blowing
				dust.
(7) The application of
				microbes for the purposes of enhancing bioremediation requires prior division
				approval.
(8) Pooling of liquids in
				the landfarm is prohibited. The operator shall remove freestanding water within
				24 hours.
(9) The operator shall
				maintain records of the landfarm's remediation activities in a form readily
				accessible for division inspection.
(10) The division's environmental bureau may
				approve other treatment procedures if the operator demonstrates that they
				provide equivalent protection for fresh water, public health and the
				environment.