Recycled Metals

• The New Mexico Environment Department issues Storm Water Permits.
• To begin the process of obtaining a permit, contact the New Mexico Environment Department at https://www.env.nm.gov/surface-water-quality/stormwater/.

• A Secondhand Metal Dealer is a scrap metal processor in the business of operating or maintaining a scrap metal yard in which scrap metal or cast-off regulated material is purchased for shipment, sale, or transfer.
• As a Secondhand Metal Dealer—whether you are registered or not—you are subject to the jurisdiction of the Sale of Recycled Metals Act (“the Act”), which you can find on the NMRLD website, or the free, online public access to official state laws, and look under “Sale of Recycled Metals,” Article 30.
• Applications for registration as a Secondhand Metal Dealer are accepted from an owner or owners of the business.

If you are unregistered and operating, you are subject to prosecution under the Uniform Licensing Act, § 3.2.   

• First, you must have a Storm Water Permit as required by law. Applications will not be approved without a valid Storm Water Permit tracking number from the New Mexico Environment Department.
• Once you have your storm water permit and tracking number, download and print (yes, print) all pages of the Secondhand Metal Dealer’s Registration Application found on the page above.
• Fill out completely. Hand-write your initials in the boxes on page 2. Print your name, and sign.
  • You are signing under penalty of perjury. 
  • You are agreeing to comply with the law and to ensure that your workers also comply with the law.
  • Links are also in the boxes where you are initialing that take you to the actual law.
• Mail in with a check made out to “Recycled Metals Program, RLD” in the amount of $25, unless you are a veteran or military service member. With your valid Storm Water Permit tracking number, your application will be processed very quickly.
  • If you are a veteran or a military service member, your first application is free.

• The Sale of Recycled Metals Act and its regulations may be found on the NMRLD website or at New Mexico Public Access Law. At the Public Access Law site, the free, online public access to official state laws, look for “Sale of Recycled Metals Act” or statutes 57-30-1 through 57-30-14.

• Regulations are a collection of more specific rules that supplement the statutory law. They have the force of law. The recycled metal regulations are almost identical to the statutes, with a few important differences. For example (but not a complete list), the regulations provide for renewal of your registration, stating that you are required to renew within 30 days of the expiration of your current registration.
• You may find the regulations at the RLD website, or at the State Records and Archives site.

• Aluminum – a product made from aluminum, an aluminum alloy, or an aluminum byproduct. Includes an aluminum beer keg but does not include aluminum food or beverage cans.
• Bronze – a cemetery vase, receptacle, or memorial made from bronze; bronze statuary; or material identifiable as bronze.
• Copper or Brass – insulated or non-insulated copper wire, hardware, or cable of the type used by a public utility, commercial mobile radio service carrier, or common carrier consisting of at least 25% copper; or a copper or brass item of a type commonly used in construction or by a public utility, commercial mobile radio service, or common carrier.
• Lead – a lead-acid battery; or material made of or containing lead.
• Steel – a product made from an alloy of iron, chromium, nickel, or manganese. Includes stainless beer kegs.
• Restricted Transactions – A special category involving regulated materials.
  • The law requires you to have the seller sign a SEPARATE DOCUMENT, referred to as “additional documentation,” that they are the true owner of the item, or have authority to sell it, AND there are additional requirements above that for catalytic converters. See following FAQs.

• Infrastructure-grade regulated material that has been burned to remove insulation, unless the seller can produce written proof that the regulated material was lawfully burned;
• Regulated material where the manufacturer’s make, model, serial, or personal identification number or other identifying marks engraved or etched upon the material have been conspicuously removed or altered;
• Regulated material marked with the name, initials, or otherwise identified as the property of an electrical company, a telephone company, a cable company, a water company, or other utility company, a railroad or a governmental entity;
• Utility access cover;
• Water meter cover;
• Road or bridge guard rail;
• Highway or street sign;
• Traffic directional or control sign or signal;
• Metal beer keg that is clearly marked as being the property of the beer manufacturer; or
• Catalytic converter that is not part of an entire motor vehicle.

Identify

     Record

            Report

                   Hold

• Identify: Ask for ID, in most cases a driver’s license. You may also accept military ID or a passport, but these do not contain addresses. The law requires you to obtain an address, so you will need the seller to also present a current utility bill or other evidence of current address. No other form of identification is acceptable.
  • You must also collect identification information on the vehicle used to transport the regulated material, including make, model, and license plate number.
  • You must also visually verify both the driver’s license and the vehicle identification information.
    • Do not rely on driver’s license information stored in your system.
    • Do not take the seller’s word for any required vehicle information.

• Record:
  • You must collect and maintain a full written record of the purchase.
  • Fill out completely the purchase record as provided by the department. Do not use a form that is not approved by the department. Get this form by clicking on “Secondhand Metal Dealer’s Purchase Record” directly above these FAQs.
  • Software such as ScrapDragon is fine. To ensure compliance, it is suggested that you go over your software with the compliance officer.
  • You may write in the required personal identification information on the form (or capture it in your software), or you may choose to scan (or copy) the driver’s license onto the paper purchase record in the space provided.
  • Obtain the license plate number of the seller’s vehicle, and other required descriptive information regarding the vehicle, and make sure to visually verify all personal and vehicle ID information. 
  • NOTE – To avoid violations of Section 4(B) of the Act:
    • You may not rely on the seller’s verbal information as to ID and vehicle. You must verify. Look at the license plate; look at the age and ID picture on the driver’s license (or other ID).
    • You may not enter the ID information into your database and then fail to verify it for each and every purchase made from a seller.
  • Record the type of material and quantity. Restricted material requires additional documentation of ownership. (See above.)
  • The seller must sign the purchase record acknowledging that they are authorized to sell the material. However, the law requires the dealer to provide the place and date of the transaction to be included near the top of the form. In other words, you may not rely on the seller for this information; you or your employee must provide the place and date of the purchase on the form in a separate location near the top of the form.
  • You must keep these records on site for 1 year and make them available upon request to the compliance officer or a peace officer.
  • Additional documentation for restricted items including catalytic converters
    • Restricted Material: Police report, fire report, contract, or letter, as appropriate. See 12.2.17.8(C)(1), New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC).
    • Catalytic Converter: In addition to the proof of ownership for restricted material above, you must obtain: a photocopy or image of the personal identification/driver’s license; date and time of the transaction; telephone number of the seller, in addition to address; license plate number and VIN of the transport vehicle; and original, copy, or image of the title or registration of the vehicle from which the catalytic converter was removed, or notarized document proving ownership. See 12.2.17.8(C)(2) NMAC. Your locality may have additional requirements.

• Report: Upload to the department using Leads Online. To sign up, contact the compliance officer.
  • Do this by the end of the second business day after the purchase. For example, if you buy on a Monday, upload by Wednesday.

• Hold: You must observe a 24-hour waiting period before disposing of, processing, or removing regulated material.

• It is an alert system in which victims of a regulated metal theft, or law enforcement agencies, submit information of the date, location, type of metal stolen, and suspect information.
• A secondhand metal dealer is required to register and monitor Scrap Theft Alert, and to ensure that employees do the same. If stolen metal is on Scrap Theft Alert, then you are on notice that it is stolen. (See next FAQ)
• Go to https://scraptheftalert.com to sign up.

• Yes. You must take care to prevent stolen material from being purchased. If you know that regulated material is stolen or it can be shown that you should have known (for example, because the material is posted on Scrap Theft Alert), you could both fined under the Sale of Recycled Metals Act  up to $1,000 per item, and you could be prosecuted criminally. It’s not worth it.
• Additionally, if you become aware the material was stolen or unlawfully obtained, you shall not remove the material from your premises and shall report it to a local law enforcement agency or the department within 24 hours. Failure to do so may result in administrative fines or registration revocation.

• Check the seller’s identification card and verify that it is real. Don’t accept an ID you suspect is fraudulent, or a temporary ID.  Check the driver’s license and vehicle plate, make, and model every time a purchase is made. 
• Don’t purchase any material that you suspect may be stolen.
• Check Scrap Theft Alert regularly.

• All secondhand metal dealers are required to post a warning sign in a prominent place, in 2-inch lettering, as follows:

“A PERSON ATTEMPTING TO SELL REGULATED MATERIAL MUST PRESENT SUFFICIENT IDENTIFICATION AS REQUIRED BY STATE LAW. WARNING: STATE LAW PROVIDES A CIVIL FINE FOR A PERSON WHO INTENTIONALLY PROVIDES A FALSE DOCUMENT OF IDENTIFICATION OR OTHER FALSE INFORMATION TO A SECONDHAND METAL DEALER WHILE ATTEMPTING TO SELL REGULATED MATERIAL.”

• See § 3 of the Act at the RLD website.

• Make sure you maintain your registration. We do not remind you to renew. 
• Stay informed regarding your legal obligations as a secondhand metal dealer. The Recycled Metals Program has a brochure to help you know and understand your obligations under the law. Ask the compliance officer for a copy.
• Follow all purchase, recording, and uploading legal requirements.
• Do not accept fraudulent documents.
• Report suspected stolen material to law enforcement or to the department within 24 hours.
• Cooperate with law enforcement and the department’s compliance officer.

• Your local law enforcement agency and/or a compliance officer from the Regulation and Licensing Department may conduct a compliance check regularly to ensure the business is following the laws.

• Up to $1,000 per violation.
• For a list of disciplinary actions, please see https://www.rld.nm.gov/construction-industries/find-a-bureau/recycled-metals/disciplinary-actions/