New Mexico
Spills and unauthorized discharges
The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) takes reports of spills, which the state's water quality rules call unauthorized discharges. NMED's cleanup page says that under 20.6.2.1203 NMAC the party responsible for a spill of oil or another water contaminant, whether it is happening now or happened in the past, must report it and take corrective action. NMED's Hazardous Waste Bureau responds to hazardous waste spills and releases and to incidents with abandoned hazardous substances, and its Environmental Notification Reporting page links the spreadsheets of reported spills described below.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 does not name state spill lists among its standard record sources. The federal counterpart of a state spill list is the emergency response record described on the ERNS page. A New Mexico spill report still matters, because it can be the only state record of a release that never became a cleanup case.
- Where groundwater is at risk, the cleanup program often leads. NMED says that where a discharge affects or threatens groundwater, its State Cleanup Program often approves and oversees the corrective action the responsible party must take. Those cases are on the State Cleanup Program (SCP) page.
- Tank releases have their own route. A release from a regulated petroleum tank is reported to the Petroleum Storage Tank Bureau, as the Active Leaking and No Further Action Sites page describes.
- Oil and gas is not read here. A Ground Water Quality Bureau page links a document it labels Delegation of Responsibilities to NMED and Oil Conservation Division, which this handbook did not open, and this handbook does not read the Oil Conservation Division's pages.
How a spill is reported
NMED's page for reporting tips and complaints says that where a health or environmental problem may threaten people or the environment right away, the caller should dial 911 first and then NMED's environmental emergency line, 505-827-9329. For other concerns, and for unauthorized discharges, NMED takes reports through its online form, Report an Environmental Issue or Incident, and suspected violations at 800-219-6157. NMED says what is sent in goes to its enforcement staff or to the agency with authority over it. NMED asks a reporter to give as much as possible: the problem and where it is, when it began and how long it has gone on, the material and the amount, who was involved or caused it, and what has been done so far.
Where to look a site up
- The Hazardous Waste Bureau's Environmental Notification Reporting page links spreadsheets of reported spills: one for 2014 and earlier, one for 2015 to 2019, one for 2020 to 2022, one each for 2023, 2024 and 2025, and one for January to May 2026, the newest when this page was read. The page says each quarter's information is added about three weeks after the quarter ends. This handbook did not open the spreadsheets.
- The Hazardous Waste Bureau's line is 505-476-6000.
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: