• How long does it take to get a ground water Discharge Permit?
  • The shortest amount of time is approximately four months, but it may be much longer. It depends on the complexity of the site and whether the application contains all needed information. There is a little more than three months built into the process by regulation (determining administrative completeness and fulfilling various public notices), and NMED needs time to evaluate the technical merits of your application.
• Can you explain the permitting process?

• What is public notice?
  • When you apply for a ground water Discharge Permit, you have to notify the public of your intention to discharge and NMED must purpose draft permit to the public for a 30 day comment period. There are two public notices, known informally as PN-1 and PN-2, which must be completed in accordance with the requirements of 20.6.2.3108 NMAC.
    • The PN-1 informs the public that someone is applying for a Discharge Permit, and is performed by the permit applicant after an application is deemed administratively complete. NMED will provide materials for the public notice to the applicant after the application is deemed administratively complete.
    • The PN-2 informs the public that there is a draft Discharge Permit ready for review and public comment for 30 days, and is done by NMED-GWQB after the application is deemed technically complete and the permit is drafted.
  • If you are member of the public and are interested in being part of permitting process for a site please contact the NMED point of contact listed in the public notice (PN-1 or PN-2) and request to be added to the interested party list. Please provide the Discharge Permit number (DP-###) for the site you are interested in, which can be found on the public notice.

• How much is the permit fee?
  • Permit fees are set by the discharge volume and type of discharge. Please refer to 20.6.2.3114 NMAC for the specific amount.
• Can I pay the fee in installments rather than all at once?
  • Yes, you can pay the fee in five yearly installments; just send 1/5 the fee when the invoice is sent and you will automatically be sent yearly invoices.
• Why do I have to fill out the application completely again if I am renewing the permit and nothing has changed?
  • The regulations require the submission of a full application, even for a simple renewal. Many people other than the NMED technical reviewer may view the application, and they are not intimately familiar with your site. Also, five years is a long time for nothing to change- often there are new people, phone numbers, operators and operational changes that need to be included for NMED to properly consider the permit renewal.