Environment Department releases quarterly performance assessment highlighting achievements, enforcement actions
Cloud version available at 2024-2-28 - COMMS Environment Department releases quarterly performance and year-end report highlighting accomplishments, community investments (Draft).docx
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) released the second quarter (Q 2 ) performance assessment for fiscal year 202 4 ( FY2 4 ) that offers the public, stakeholders, and legislators the opportunity to track the d epartment’s progress in protecting public health and the environment between October 1 and Dec ember 3 1 , 2023 . The assessment also provides insights on budget and staffing challenges impacting performance .
Second- quarter a ccomplishments highlighted in the assessment include :
Adoption of the Advanced Clean Cars and Advanced C lean Trucks r ules by the Environmental Improvement Board and the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board ;
I nvestigating the cause of elevated pH levels impacting the water supply of approximately 20,000 residents in or near Sunland Park and Santa Teresa ;
Initiat ing 376 enforcement actions and resolving 32 others;
R each ing a $214,000 settlement with Los Alamos National Laboratory for alleged violations of the Hazardous Waste Act and Hazardous Waste Management Regulations, including failure to dispose of hazardous waste ; and
A ward ing over $750,000 to communities to remove trash, prevent illegal dumping, and jump-start recycling programs .
For FY24 , NMED received recurring appropriations totaling $ 147.7 million to protect public health and the environment. This included $ 25 . 5 million in general fund s , $ 62 . 7 million in special revenue funds (e.g., permit fees), and $ 59.5 million in federal funds . NMED also received $ 45.5 million in one -t ime appropriations for earmarked projects/purposes.
The performance assessment , developed by NMED’s Office of Strategic Initiatives , provides data on 4 6 performance measures over five broad categories for FY24 as follows:
6 public health measures,
9 environmental protection measures,
24 compliance measures,
4 economic investment measures, and
3 operational measures.
T he 4 6 performance measures largely stem from agreements between NMED and the Department of Finance and Administration and the Legislative Finance Committee for state fiscal year 202 4 pursuant to the Accountability in Government Act . NMED uses these assessments to provide additional context and information to the public and the legislature.
Highlights from the assessment indicate :
NMED staff conducted 2, 323 compliance inspections across the state .
For the inspections conducted, five program s foun d compliance exceeding th e ir benchmark while three regulatory program areas fell below th e target :
Surface water discharge permittees: 100 % in compliance
Groundwater discharge permittees: 100 % in compliance
Radiation licensing program (i.e., medical equipment): 100 % in compliance
Liquid waste program (i.e., septic systems): 9 8.2% in compliance
Solid and infectious waste management facilities: 90 . 0 % in compliance .
Restaurants and food manufacturers: 68 . 3 % in compliance
Hazardous waste management facilities: 4 0.0 % in compliance
Air emi tting sources: 37 . 5 % in compliance
NMED Drinking Water Bureau staff provid ed direct technical assistance to 16 community water syst ems to help them move from a status of non-compliance to c ompliance .
The report includes a n “NMED Staff Workload Snapshot” and supporting data in Appendix A that provide insight into the workload challenges facing an under-resource d agency. For example, at current staffing levels , each NMED Occupational Health and Safety inspector has an average of 6 , 804 facilities to regulate . If each one inspected a facility every workday , it would take this team 2 9 years to visit each site.
Each technical staff member in the Construction Programs Bureau (CPB) oversee s 115 individual projects. Despite this workload, CPB still initiated 98 new water infrastructure projects across the state in the second quarter, disbursing $ 31 . 5 million into communities with water infrastructure needs.
NMED’s vacancy rate was approximately 1 6.5 % at the end of the second quarter . Based on exit interview data and the Department’s annual employee engagement surveys, NMED’s vacancies are driven by opportunities for greater compensation with less complex work and retirements.
View the FY24 Q 2 Performance Assessment here