New Mexico
Groundwater discharge permits
The Ground Water Quality Bureau of the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) issues groundwater discharge permits so that water discharged by industry, wastewater facilities and other activities does not contaminate groundwater. Three sections of the Bureau's Permitting Program share the work: Agriculture Compliance, Mining Environmental Compliance and Pollution Prevention. They permit under the Ground and Surface Water Protection Regulations (20.6.2 NMAC) and the supplemental rules for dairy facilities (20.6.6 NMAC) and copper mine facilities (20.6.7 NMAC). A permit is renewed every five years.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 does not name groundwater discharge permits among its standard record sources. A permit still tells you that a facility on or near the property discharged, or discharges, where the water can reach groundwater.
- The facilities are varied. The Permitting page lists domestic wastewater facilities, septic tank and leachfield systems larger than 5,000 gallons a day, power plants, dairies, chile processors, mining operations, commercial and industrial operations without sanitary sewer service, and groundwater cleanup systems. The Bureau's FAQ adds examples of facilities likely to need a permit, such as car washes, asphalt processing, chlorinated solvent remediation, cheese making, slaughterhouses and food processing.
- Lagoons and holding tanks count. The FAQ says a discharge to a lined lagoon or a holding tank needs a permit in most cases.
- Smaller septic systems are elsewhere. The FAQ says domestic wastewater sent to a septic system at less than 5,000 gallons a day is regulated by NMED's liquid waste program (see Liquid waste permits and property transfer evaluations).
- A notice of intent may come first. The FAQ describes a notice of intent (NOI) as a form sent to NMED so it can judge whether an activity needs a permit. Ask whether the file holds an NOI as well as any permit.
For a permitted facility near the property, ask whether the file holds monitoring well data and any record of a violation. The Bureau's pages link Monitoring Well Construction and Abandonment Guidelines (March 2011).
Where to look a site up
- The Bureau's Permitting page links three lists, one for each section: the facilities regulated by the Agriculture Compliance Section, by the Mining Environmental Compliance Section and by the Pollution Prevention Section. This handbook did not open them.
- Notices of permit applications and draft permits are posted on NMED's Public Notices page.
- The Bureau is upgrading its permitting process with an e-Permitting website.
- The Bureau's line is 505-827-2900 and its general mailbox is gwqb.general@env.nm.gov.
Getting the file
NMED takes records requests under the Inspection of Public Records Act through its Public Records Requests page: by its online portal, which needs no account, by mail to P.O. Box 5469, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87502, or by telephone at (505) 827-2855. The Public records requests page here gives what a request must hold and the fees.
Sources
New Mexico Environment Department pages, read October 13, 2026, no modified date shown: