NMED News:

SANTA FE — The New Mexico Environment Department is highlighting the ongoing success of its Enforcement Watch initiative, a transparency-focused program that provides the public with consistent and timely information about the Department’s enforcement actions across environmental protection, public health, and worker safety programs. 

By making enforcement data accessible, Enforcement Watch reinforces NMED’s commitment to New Mexico residents for accountability and regulatory compliance statewide.

Launched in May 2023, Enforcement Watch shares monthly updates on enforcement actions and their resolutions.

These updates are broadly divided into two categories:

• Active Matters: Alleged violations of state regulations, rules, permits, or licenses that are currently under investigation or pending resolution.
• Resolved Matters: Cases that have been adjudicated in court or administratively resolved, including the full payment of any civil penalties.

September Program Spotlight: Occupational Health & Safety Bureau  

The Occupational Health and Safety Bureau, now part of the Compliance and Enforcement Division, works to assure all New Mexican employees have a safe and healthful workplace.

OHSB accomplishes this by providing compliance assistance to employers, assisting employees with workplace safety concerns, and enforcing the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Act. OHSB’s jurisdiction includes private industry and public entities such as city, county, and state governments.

By joining the Department’s Compliance and Enforcement Division, OHSB will continue to crack down on employers failing to protect their workers from occupational hazards. Already, the Bureau has issued a number of citations to such businesses. For example, in September 2025, OHSB issued a willful citation to Aliya’s Foods after determining the company failed to protect workers from serious machine hazards that resulted in an employee’s arm amputation.

OHSB’s inspection of Aliya’s Foods found:

• Employees cleaned an industrial machine while it was still energized and running, violating safety procedures
• The machinery lacked required guarding and a functioning interlock, allowing its augers to keep moving while the lid was open.
• The injured worker, employed less than two months, had never received formal training on the machine’s safety mechanisms. Supervisors failed to document training or enforce safe practices.
• Aliya’s Foods’ management had prior knowledge of the hazards. A safety work order filed months before the incident warned that the machine was non-compliant, but no corrective action was taken.

“Employers have a legal and moral obligation to protect workers from preventable hazards, and the Occupational Health and Safety Bureau professionals hold employers accountable to such standards,” said Bruce Baizel, NMED Compliance and Enforcement Division Director.“Aliya’s Foods ignored clear warnings about unsafe machinery and failed to enforce basic safety procedures. As a result, a worker suffered a catastrophic and life-changing injury.” 

In addition to the proposed penalties of up to $300,000, the citation requires Aliya’s Foods to immediately correct the identified hazards.

Over the past year, OHSB inspected 231 worksites and issued penalties totaling more than $1.8 million, including over $500,000 for machine guarding and safety procedure violations at 14 worksites.

OHSB encourages all employers to review their programs to assure compliance and prevent serious injuries. Any employee who has concerns about workplace safety has the right to confidentially report those concerns to the OHSB. Reports can be made by calling 505-476-8700, emailing Complaints.OSHA@env.nm.gov, or submitting a complaint through OHSB’s online complaint formhere.

Enforcement Watch Updates for September 2025

In September, 165 new entries were added to the Active Matters listing and 145 were moved to the Resolved Matters listing. 

New additions to the report included:

• 79 notices of violation issued by the Drinking Water Bureau 
• 34 notices of violation issued by the Hazardous Waste Bureau
• 24 notices of violation issued by the Food Safety Program to retail food establishments that failed to timely pay their permit fee, resulting in a $25 late fee
• 17 notices of violation issued by the Occupational Health & Safety Bureau 
• 5 notices of violation issued by the Petroleum Storage Tank Bureau
• 3 notices of violation issued by the Air Quality Bureau
• 2 notices of violation issued by the Solid Waste Bureau
• 1 notice of violation in the Public Pools/Spas Bureau

 The following enforcement cases were resolved in September:

• 91 cases in the Food Safety Program
• 49 cases in the Drinking Water Bureau
• 1 case in the Hazardous Waste Bureau
• 1 case in the Occupational Health & Safety Bureau
• 1 case in the Air Quality Bureau
• 1 case in the Petroleum Storage Tank Bureau
• 1 case in the Solid Waste Bureau

Highlights of alleged violations and resolved enforcement actions in September include:

• The Food Safety Program issued a Notice of Violation to 100 establishments throughout the state for operating without a valid food establishment permit.
• The Air Quality Bureau issued a Notice of Violation to XTO Energy Inc of Spring, Texas for failing to retain records of attempted repairs at the Maverick Compressor Station in Eddy County, in violation of New Mexico air quality regulations.
• The Drinking Water Bureau issued a Notice of Violation to Longhorn Estates Water System in Clovis for failing to provide public notice of a failure to correct significant deficiencies, as required under Safe Drinking Water Act regulations.
• The Hazardous Waste Bureau has issued a Administrative Compliance Order to the New Mexico Department of Transportation in Santa Fe for violations of the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Act. Violations include failing to label containers as hazardous waste, improper storage, failure to clean spills, and other regulatory noncompliance.
• The Occupational Health and Safety Bureau has issued a citation to C&M Inspection services of Hobbs, New Mexico for workplace safety violations. The citation addresses conditions that caused injury to an employee from being struck by unsecured falling pipe and pipe support structures.
• The Petroleum Storage Tank Bureau issued a Class A Notice of Intent to Red Tag to Santa Fe Public Schools Bus Depot for failure to provide a leak detection system for underground storage tanks.
• The Public Pools/Spas Bureau issued a Notice of Violation to Hotel Willa Cold Plunge of Taos for constructing and operating an aquatic venue without obtaining a permit.
• The Solid Waste Bureau issued a Notice of Violation to the City of Bayard for failure to obtain and analyze representative samples of sludge prior to disposal.

Enforcement Watch provides the public, the business community, environmental nongovernment organizations, and municipal governments with easy access to see which organizations NMED has alleged are in violation of regulations, permits, and/or licenses administered by the Department.

It is updated when violations are alleged or resolved. Retrospective enforcement matters are added as staffing resources allow. Organizations remain on Enforcement Watch until the alleged violations are corrected to the satisfaction of the Department.

The easiest way for an organization to avoid appearing on the Enforcement Watch is to stay off it in the first place by remaining in full compliance with applicable regulations. NMED encourages organizations that are unclear of their regulatory responsibilities to contact a consultant and conduct a third-party compliance audit and disclose potential violations.   

NMED provides detailed compliance and enforcement metrics in the Compliance Measures section of the Quarterly Performance Report.

The full Enforcement Watch can be viewed at https://www.env.nm.gov/enforcement-watch.