The secretary of energy, minerals and natural resources may hold a public hearing to determine whether an order or decision issued by the commission contravenes the public interest. The hearing shall be held within twenty days after the entry of the commission order or decision following a rehearing or after the order refusing a rehearing. The hearing shall be a de novo proceeding, and the secretary shall enter such order or decision as may be required under the circumstances, having due regard for the conservation of the state's oil, gas and mineral resources, and the commission shall modify its own order or decision to comply therewith. If a rehearing before the commission was granted, the record of the rehearing shall be made part of the record of the hearing before the secretary. If the application for rehearing was denied, the record of the hearing before the commission or the oil conservation division shall be made part of the record of the hearing before the secretary. Orders and decisions of the secretary may be appealed by any party to the original hearing or the rehearing before the commission or by any party to the hearing before the secretary held pursuant to this section, in accordance with the procedure of Subsections B, C and D of Section 70-2-25 NMSA 1978, except that the appeal shall not be a de novo proceeding and shall be limited to a review of the record of the hearing held pursuant to the provisions of this section.
History: 1953 Comp., § 65-3-22.1, enacted by Laws 1977, ch. 255, § 60; 1987, ch. 234, § 62.
The 1987 amendment, effective July 1, 1987, in the first sentence substituted "energy, minerals and natural resources" for "energy and minerals department" near the beginning and substituted "commission contravenes the public interest" for "oil conservation commission contravenes the department's statewide plan or the public interest" at the end; in the fifth sentence substituted "the commission or the oil conservation division" for "commission or the division"; in the middle of the sixth sentence substituted "Subsections B, C and D of Section 70-2-25 NMSA 1978" for "Subsections (b), (c) and (d) of Section 65-3-22 NMSA 1953"; and made minor changes in language throughout the section.
Section 70-2-225 NMSA 1978. — Section 70-2-225 NMSA 1978, as rewritten by Laws 1998, ch. 55, § 85, effective September 1, 1998, no longer contains a Subsection C or D, or specific procedures for appeal of commission orders or decisions.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 2 Am. Jur. 2d Administrative Law § 369 et seq.
73A C.J.S. Public Administrative Law and Procedure §§ 166 to 171.
Structure New Mexico Statutes
Article 2 - Oil Conservation Commission; Division;
Section 70-2-2 - [Waste prohibited.]
Section 70-2-3 - Waste; definitions.
Section 70-2-5 - Oil conservation division; director; state petroleum engineer.
Section 70-2-6 - Commission's and division's powers and duties.
Section 70-2-8 - Subpoena power; immunity of natural persons required to testify.
Section 70-2-10 - Perjury; punishment.
Section 70-2-11 - Power of commission and division to prevent waste and protect correlative rights.
Section 70-2-12 - Enumeration of powers.
Section 70-2-12.1 - Disposition of produced water; no permit required.
Section 70-2-12.2 - Adoption of rules; appeals.
Section 70-2-14 - Requirement for financial assurance.
Section 70-2-16 - Allocation of allowable production in field or pool.
Section 70-2-17 - Equitable allocation of allowable production; pooling; spacing.
Section 70-2-18 - Spacing or proration unit with divided mineral ownership.
Section 70-2-19 - Common purchasers; discrimination in purchasing prohibited.
Section 70-2-21 - Purchase, sale or handling of excess oil, natural gas or products prohibited.
Section 70-2-23 - Hearings on rules, regulations and orders; notice; emergency rules.
Section 70-2-25 - Rehearings; appeals.
Section 70-2-26 - Review of oil conservation commission decision; appeals.
Section 70-2-27 - Temporary restraining order or injuction [injunction]; grounds; hearing; bond.
Section 70-2-28 - Actions for violations.
Section 70-2-29 - Actions for damages; institution of actions for injunctions by private parties.
Section 70-2-30 - [Violation of court order grounds for appointment of receiver.]
Section 70-2-31 - Violations of the Oil and Gas Act; penalties.
Section 70-2-31.1 - Reporting requirement.
Section 70-2-32 - Seizure and sale of illegal oil or gas or products; procedure.
Section 70-2-33 - Definitions.
Section 70-2-35 - Legal representation before the federal energy regulatory commission.
Section 70-2-36 - Removing or altering marks of identification; penalty.
Section 70-2-37 - Oil and gas reclamation fund created; disposition of fund.