FYI: Alto Lakes is having a meeting at Alto Lakes Country Club Pavilion WEDNESDAY, July 21, at 3 pm. As I understand it, the public is invited to hear/talk about the Concrete Plant, you don't need to be a member of Alto Lakes. This is NOT an official public meeting of the NM Environment Department – Air Quality Bureau.
Here's the current structure of how a permit goes through NMED and this is where your comments sent to NMED will become part of the process and hopefully produce results:
Thank you for contacting the Air Quality Bureau regarding Roper Construction Inc’s air quality permit application for the proposed Alto Concrete Batch Plant. The application is now available on our website at the following link.
https://www.env.nm.gov/air-quality/permit-applications-with-public-interest-public-meeting-or-public-hearing/
The application was received by the New Mexico Environment Department on 06/22/2021 and has been assigned to Deepika Saikrishnan for review.
Contact Details : Deepika.Saikrishnan@state.nm.us or 505-476-4360 (when returning voicemails I may be calling from an unidentified number.)
The Department has 30 days to review the application and determine whether the application is “administratively complete.’’ This is not a technical review of the application, but a review for the presence of the required parts of the application. If ruled administratively complete, the Department will post a public notice for this facility. Per 20.2.72.206A(5)NMAC, shown below (text and link provided), interested parties have 30 days from the date the Department’s public notice is published to express their interest/concern in writing. These written comments would be part of the permit application record. Emailed comments are considered written comments.
NMAC (http://164.64.110.134/parts/title20/20.002.0072.html)
20.2.72.206 PUBLIC NOTICE AND PARTICIPATION:
A. The department shall:
(1) Make available for public inspection a list of all pending applications for permits or permit revisions;
(2) Make available for public inspection the permit application and the department's preliminary determination. This material shall be available both at the department's central office and the district or field office nearest to the proposed source. Copies of any permit application, except those portions of which may be determined as confidential in accordance with 20.2.1 NMAC (General Provisions), will be supplied upon written request and payment of reasonable costs;
(3) Subsequent to an affirmative administrative completeness determination, publish a public notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the area closest to the location of the source. The notice shall include: the applicant's name and address, the location and brief description of the source, a summary of estimated emissions and ambient impact, and the department's preliminary intent to issue the permit if the construction or modification requested in the application will comply with air quality requirements, including ambient standards. The notice shall identify the location of the permit application and department’s analysis (when available) for public review and describe the manner in which comments or evidence may be submitted to the department, including that persons must inform the department in writing of their interest in the permit application in order to have a 30 day period to review and comment on the analysis under Subsection B of 20.2.72.206 NMAC below. The notice shall clearly state that any person who does not express such interest in writing prior to the end of the initial 30 day comment period will not receive notification of the availability of the analysis and thus forewarn such person of the need to express interest in writing if they desire to review and comment on the analysis;
(4) Provide the notice under Paragraph 3 of Subsection A of 20.2.72.206 NMAC above by mail, which may include electronic mail, to all individuals and organizations identified on a list maintained by the department of those who have indicated in writing a desire to receive notices of all applications under this part;
(5) Allow all interested persons thirty (30) days from the date the public notice is published to express an interest in writing in the permit application;
(6) Mail written notice of the action taken on a permit application to any person who expresses an interest in writing in the application; and
(7) Mail a copy of the public notice at the same time it is sent for publication to the appropriate agency in the following locations if the source will locate within fifty kilometers of the boundary of other states, Bernalillo county, or a Class I area. Copies of all public notices shall be sent to US EPA Region VI, if requested by US EPA.
B. In the event that any person expresses an interest in writing in the permit application, the department shall also:
(1) Notify each person who expressed an interest in writing in the permit application of the date and the location that the department’s analysis was or will be available for review; and
(2) Not issue the permit until at least thirty (30) days after the department’s analysis is available for review. During this thirty (30) day period, any person may submit written public comments or request a public hearing.
C. The department shall hold a public hearing if the secretary determines that there is a significant public interest. Public hearings shall be held in the geographic area likely to be impacted by the source. The time, date, and place of the hearing shall be determined by the department. The department shall give notice of the hearing to the applicant and the public. The secretary may appoint a hearing officer. A transcript of the hearing shall be made at the request of either the department or the applicant and at the expense of the person requesting the transcript. At the hearing, all interested persons shall be given a reasonable chance to submit data, views or arguments orally or in writing and to examine witnesses testifying at the hearing.
[20.2.72.206 NMAC - Rn & A, 20 NMAC 2.72.II.206, 2/2/01]
P.S. Follow the link and click on the highlighted ‘application pdf’ to view the application. https://www.env.nm.gov/air-quality/permit-applications-with-public-interest-public-meeting-or-public-hearing/
Thank you,
Deepika Saikrishnan
If guidance or a determination is included in this email, it is intended to serve as general guidance and is in no way a formal statement of Department policy. New information or changes to regulations may result in a different determination or guidance.
Deepika Saikrishnan
Environmental Scientist
Permitting -Technical Services
NM Environment Department – Air Quality Bureau
525 Camino de los Marquez, Suite 1
Santa Fe, NM 87505
505-476-4360
Deepika.saikrishnan@state.nm.us
www.env.nm.gov
