New Mexico
Petroleum storage tank registrations
In New Mexico, petroleum storage tanks above and below ground are regulated by the Petroleum Storage Tank Bureau of the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED). The Bureau inspects regulated tank facilities, oversees every tank removal and new installation, and administers the tank rules in 20.5.101 to 20.5.125 of the New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC).
In a Phase I ESA
The Bureau's tank lists are the New Mexico form of the state registered storage tank records that ASTM E1527-21 lists as a standard source. The general reading of a registered tank listing is on the UST / AST page. A registration says a tank system exists or existed. Releases are a separate list, Active Leaking and No Further Action Sites.
Four New Mexico details shape the search.
- Which tanks the rules reach. NMED's prevention FAQ says the rules generally reach underground tanks holding more than 110 gallons and aboveground tanks holding 1,320 to 55,000 gallons, and sends the reader to the definitions in 20.5.101 NMAC. For both kinds of tank the regulated substance is petroleum, or a fraction of it, that is liquid at standard room temperature. For underground tanks it also takes in hazardous substances as CERCLA Section 101(14) defines them.
- When a tank is registered. The FAQ says an owner must tell the Bureau at least 30 days before installing a tank system, and must register a tank within 60 days of first putting a regulated substance in it (20.5.102.202 NMAC). The registration gives each tank's type of release detection (20.5.102.207 NMAC). Owners must also tell the Bureau when ownership changes.
- Who may close a tank. NMED says a permanent closure does not need a certified installer, but the contractor must hold the license the Construction Industries Division of the Regulation and Licensing Department requires.
- Newer tanks have secondary containment. NMED says its rules require it for underground tanks installed on or after April 4, 2008.
The Bureau's forms for tanks
The Bureau's leak prevention page links the Petroleum Storage Tank Registration Form with its instructions, a Change in Ownership Form, and 30-day notification forms for installations, modifications and repairs, for permanent closure and changes in service, and for temporary closure, with a request to extend a temporary closure. Its guidance page links brochures titled Closure Requirements for Underground Storage Tank Systems and Closure Requirements for Aboveground Storage Tanks. For a tank that was closed, ask whether the file holds the closure notification and any report made at the closure.
Where to look a site up
- The Petroleum Storage Tank Bureau page links two county lists, Active Petroleum Storage Tanks by County and All Petroleum Storage Tanks by County, each as Excel and PDF, both marked updated 7/17/2026. It also links a Public Record on Underground Storage Tanks marked posted 7/6/2026. The Bureau's Public Outreach, Reports and Lists page links its underground tank public record under the label Public Record October 2025, at a different address.
- NMED's GoNM map carries the Bureau's facility data, and NMED says its features link to site documents kept in Resource Space. The Bureau posts instructions for finding a particular tank or leak.
- The Bureau's Facilities Dashboard follows tanks, facilities and releases, can be filtered by county or legislative district, and NMED says it updates weekly.
- The reports page links a list it describes as the facilities now barred from fuel deliveries because of compliance problems. For facility and owner details, the same page sends readers to NMED's records request page.
- The Bureau's line is 505-476-4397. Its office is Bldg 1, 2905 Rodeo Park Dr. East, Santa Fe, NM 87505. General mail goes to PSTB.Inbox@env.nm.gov and test reports to PSTB.Compliance@env.nm.gov.
Getting the file
NMED takes records requests under the Inspection of Public Records Act through its Public Records Requests page. Its online portal needs no account; requests also go by mail to P.O. Box 5469, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87502, or by telephone at (505) 827-2855. A request names the requester, with address and telephone number, and describes the records closely enough to find them. The Public records requests page here gives the fees.
Sources
New Mexico Environment Department pages, read October 13, 2026, no modified date shown: