Overview

Water Regulations & Requirements Overview

Laboratory operations must comply with state and federal laws protecting the environment. The specific requirements of these laws are published in the Code of Federal Regulations and the New Mexico Administrative Code. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforces the federal regulations and the Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) enforces the state requirements. For most of the Clean Water Act, the state of New Mexico has adopted the federal regulations into the state Administrative Code and been delegated authority for enforcing the rules at the state level.

Federal

Federal Requirements

• General
• Clean Water Act
• Safe Drinking Water Act
• Regulated Chemicals
• Code of Federal Regulations
• Search Tool
• Search Tool
• Federal Register
• Executive Orders
• DOE Directives
• Federal Executive Orders
• EO 13423 - "Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management"
• DOE Directives
  The Department of Energy (DOE) Directives are official communications of policies, requirements and procedures, and include written policies, orders, notices, manuals, and guides. The following DOE directives are applicable to water quality programs
• DOE Order 436.1 - "Departmental Sustainability"
• DOE Order 5400.5 - "Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment"
• DOE/EH-0173T - "Environmental Regulatory Guide for Radiological Effluent Monitoring and Environmental Surveillance"
• DOE Order 151.1B - "Comprehensive Emergency Management System"

State

New Mexico Requirements

The basic authority for water quality management in New Mexico is provided through the State Water Quality Act (§§ 74-6-1 et seq., NMSA 1978). This law establishes the Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) which is the state water pollution control agency for New Mexico for all purposes of the federal Clean Water act and the wellhead protection and sole source aquifer programs of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act [§ 74-6-3.E, NMSA 1987].

• NM WQCC Regulations

Oversight

LANL Water Quality Oversight

Below are links to the agencies having oversight and/or regulatory authority for LANL water quality programs.

• Environmental Protection Agency
• EPA Homepage
• EPA Region VI - Compliance Assurance and Enforcement
• EPA - Office of Wastewater Management
• EPA - Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water
• EPA - Unified Watershed Assessments
• EPA - Watershed Protection Statewide Approach
• New Mexico Environment Department
• NMED Homepage
• NMED Water and Waste Management Division
• U.S. Department of Energy
• DOE Homepage
• DOE Environmental Policy
• DOE Citizen's Advisory Board

LANL

LANL Water Requirements

Water Quality permits must be obtained from the NMED and/or EPA for sources of water pollution that have applicable permitting requirements.