Inspection of Public Records Request
Under the Inspection of Public Records Act, NMSA 1978, § 14-2-1, every person has the right to inspect public records of public bodies, including the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (“EMNRD”). The Act also makes compliance with requests to inspect an integral duty of the officers and employees of EMNRD.
Procedures for Requesting Inspection:
You can submit requests to inspect public records to the records custodian either orally or in writing. A written request must contain the following items for the person making the request:
- Name
- Address
- Telephone number, and
- Description of the records sought in enough detail to enable the records custodian to identify and locate the requested records.
Email requests are written requests under the Inspection of Public Records Act and may be directed to EMNRD’s general IPRA Contact, Brian White at brian.white@emnrd.nm.gov or 1220 S. St. Francis Dr., Santa Fe, NM 87505. You may also direct your request to one of the IPRA Contacts for a specific division. You can also send a request by mail to the division IPRA Contacts at 1220 S. St. Francis Dr., Santa Fe, NM 87505.
- Administrative Services Division – Matthew Lovato at matthew.lovato@emnrd.nm.gov
- Energy, Conservation and Management Division – Jeremy Lewis at jeremy.lewis@emnrd.nm.gov
- Human Resources Bureau – Amanda Muller at amanda.muller@emnrd.nm.gov
- State Forestry Division – Brian Holton at brian.holton@emnrd.nm.gov
- Information Technology Office – James Whitaker at james.whitaker@emnrd.nm.g
- Mining and Minerals Division – Stephanie Rodriguez at stephanie.rodriguez@emnrd.nm.gov
- Oil Conservation Division – Gayle Madrid at gayle.madrid@emnrd.nm.gov or Laura Tulk at laura.tulk@emnrd.nm.gov
- State Parks Division – Wendy Mason at wendy.mason@emnrd.nm.gov
The records custodian must permit inspection immediately or as soon as practical, but no later than 15 calendar days after the records custodian receives the written request unless the request is excessively burdensome or broad. If inspection is not permitted within 3 business days, the person making the request will receive a written response explaining when the records will be available for inspection or when the public body will respond to the request.
If a written request has been denied, the custodian shall provide the requester with a written explanation of the reasons that inspection has been denied. The written denial will be delivered or mailed to the person requesting the records within 15 days after the request for inspection was received.
Procedures for Requesting Copies and Copy Fees
If you would like a copy of a public record, the records custodian may charge a reasonable fee.
The fees for documents are as follows:
- $0.25 per page for 8.5 x 11 inch copies
- $2.00 or more per map (depending on size and complexity)
- $0.50 per page for 8.5 x 14 inch copies
- $1.00 per page for 11 x 17 inch copies
The fees for electronic records include the actual cost to download copies of the records to a disk or storage device and the actual cost of the disk or storage device. The cost for a disk is $7.50.
The records custodian may request that applicable fees for copying public records be paid before copies are made. When you pay an advance copying charge and request a receipt, the records custodian will give you one.