Compliance & Technical Assistance Program
The Compliance & Technical Assistance Program is responsible for conducting inspections and compliance assistance site visits of facilities that generate or may generate hazardous waste and/or used oil, including treatment, storage, or disposal facilities throughout New Mexico, exclusive of Indian lands. Staff determines whether violations of the hazardous waste or used oil regulations have occurred by conducting inspections and/or reviewing database information. The number of violations, compliance history of the facility and the degree of violations determine the level of enforcement action. The program is also responsible for responding to and investigating hazardous waste and used oil complaints.
The Incident Coordinator, also part of the Compliance & Technical Assistance Program, performs duties associated with spills, releases, or other incidents with an environmental impact to ensure that the department’s responses are performed appropriately, effectively, and in a timely manner. The performance of these duties in turn provide for a clean environment and healthy citizens in the State. The Incident Coordinator answers reports of spills and releases, provides technical assistance to the notifier/complainant, gathers information about the incident or complaint, prioritizes these incidents, and preliminarily assigns response duties to the appropriate bureau by tracking responses to incidents through the department’s Environmental Notification and Tracking System (ENTS) ensuring satisfactory completion. The Incident Coordinator also oversees the schedule for the On call team, which consists of members of the HWB, who are available twenty-four/seven, 365 days a year to assist and respond to environmental incidents that occur after hours.