PURPOSE

The New Mexico Mining Commission was created in the 1993 New Mexico Mining Act as the rulemaking and administrative review body for the Mining Act. The Commission adopts all regulations which are necessary to implement the Act. After receiving a petition to change or adopt regulations, the Commission holds a public hearing and decides which regulations, if any, to adopt, and what, if any, regulatory changes are appropriate.

Anyone affected by actions or rulings related to the Mining Act regulatory program may appeal that action to the Commission if they do not agree with the action or ruling provisions. The Commission will then hold a public hearing on the appeal, and decide to uphold or overturn the action. The Commission may also direct the regulators (MMD) to address certain issues related to Mining Act implementation.

COMMISSION MEMBERS

As stipulated in 69.36.6 NMSA, the Commission shall consist of seven voting members, including: (1)  the Director of the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology or designee; (2)  the Secretary of Environment or designee; (3)  the State Engineer or designee; (4)  the Commissioner of Public Lands or designee; (5)  the Director of the Department of Game and Fish or designee; and (6) two members of the public and an alternate for each, all to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The public members shall be chosen to represent and to balance environmental and mining interests while minimizing conflicts of interest. No more than one of the public members and one of the alternates appointed may belong to the same political party. An alternate member may vote only in the absence of the public member for whom they are the alternate. The Chair of the Soil and Water Conservation Commission and the Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station of New Mexico State University or their designees shall be nonvoting members of the Commission.

The New Mexico Mining Commission complies with the New Mexico Open Meetings Act. For details, please review the most recent New Mexico Mining Commission Open Meetings Resolution.

Additional Information

COMMISSIONERS

VOTING EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS

Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources: J. Michael Timmons, Ph.D.; Virginia McLemore, Ph.D. (Designee)

New Mexico Environment Department: James Kenney; Claudia Trueblood, Ph.D.  (Designee)

Office of the State Engineer: Mike Hamman, P.E; Catherine Zemlick, Ph.D. (Designee)

State Land Office: Stephanie Garcia Richard; Greg Bloom (Designee)

Department of Game & Fish: Michael Sloane; Matthew Wunder, Ph.D., Chair (Designee)

NON-VOTING EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS

New Mexico Soil and Water Conservation Commission: Dusty Hunt

NMSU Agricultural Experiment Station: Jay Lillywhite , Ph.D.

GOVERNOR APPOINTEES

Environmental Representative: Roderick Ventura

Industry Representative: Erich Bower

Alternate Environmental Representative: Kathleen Sanchez

Alternate Industry Representative: Paul Gill