A. The state mine inspector shall proceed immediately upon notification to the site of any mine accident causing the loss of life or requiring activation of a mine rescue team and shall assist in the rescue of persons within the mine. The state mine inspector shall participate in the accident investigation with any other federal, state and local agency and company representatives.

B. Whenever an accident occurs in or about a mine or the machinery connected to a mine, the operator of the mine shall give notice within thirty minutes of ascertaining the occurrence of the accident to the mine accident emergency operations center at the statewide telephone number established by the state mine inspector stating the particulars of the accident.

C. Nothing in this section shall be construed to relieve the operator of the mine from any reporting or notification requirement under federal law.

D. As used in this section, "accident" means "accident" as provided in Section 69-8-2 NMSA 1978.

E. The state mine inspector shall impose a civil penalty of up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) on the operator of the mine if it is determined that the operator failed to give immediate notice as required in this section. The inspector may waive imposition of the civil penalty at any time if the inspector finds that the failure to give immediate notice was caused by circumstances outside the control of the operator.

F. The penalties imposed by the state mine inspector for violations of this section shall be derived from criteria-based penalty points. A penalty conversion table developed by the state mine inspector shall serve as a guide for determining penalty assessments.

G. A person who receives a notice of violation that includes a penalty assessment under this section may, within twenty days after receipt of the notice, submit a written petition to the state mine inspector to review the notice. Within sixty days after receipt of the petition, the state mine inspector shall issue a final order upholding, amending or rescinding the notice. Within twenty days after the date of notice of the final order by the state mine inspector, a person who is the subject of the notice may file a written appeal of the order with the mining safety board. The mining safety board shall adopt rules to govern the appeal process.

History: Laws 1933, ch. 153, § 23; 1941 Comp., § 67-413; 1953 Comp., § 63-4-15; Laws 1985, ch. 68, § 1; 2006, ch. 102, § 2; 2006, ch. 106, § 2; 2007, ch. 301, § 6; 2007, ch. 302, § 6; 2010, ch. 20, § 1; 2015, ch. 107, § 1.

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, amended the definition of "accident" by referencing the amended definition of accident in Section 69-8-2 NMSA 1978; and in Subsection D, deleted "30 C.F.R. 50.2" and added "Section 69-8-2 NMSA 1978".

The 2010 amendment, effective May 19, 2010, added Subsection G.

The 2007 amendment, effective June 15, 2007, required the state mine inspector to participate in the accident investigation with federal, state and local agency and company representatives and added Subsection F.

The 2006 amendment, effective March 7, 2006, changed "imminent danger" to "requiring activation of a mine rescue team" in Subsection A; added Subsection B to provide for notice to the mine accident emergency operations center; added Subsection C to provide that nothing shall relieve the operator of reporting and notification requirements under federal law; added Subsection D to define "accident"; and added Subsection E to provide for civil penalties for failure to give notice and for waiver of civil penalties.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 53A Am. Jur. 2d Mines and Minerals § 257.

58 C.J.S. Mines and Minerals § 237.