{1} Cаmino Real Environmental Center (Camino Real) appeals from the administrative decision and order of the New Mexico Secretary of the Environment (Secretary) renewing its permit to operate a landfill, but limiting the renewal to a one-year period. The Solid Waste Act provides that “except as otherwise provided by law,” private landfill permits “shall remain in effect ten years, or for the active life of the facility, whichever is less.” NMSA 1978, § 74-9-24(G)(2) (1993). On appeal, we consider whether the New Mexico Supreme Court’s decision in Colonias Development Council v. Rhino Environmental Services Inc. (Rhino),
{2} Cross-Appellants Luz Vargas and Hеather McMurray (Vargas and McMurray), acting pro se, challenge the approval of Camino Real’s permit for any duration. They argue that in granting the permit, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) failed to consider evidence showing a history of considerable environmental contamination in Sunland Park. However, Vargas and McMurray’s cross appeal does not directly challenge any of NMED’s findings supporting approval of Camino Real’s permit and otherwise fails to demonstrate an absence of substantial evidence, an abuse of discretion, or an outcome that is contrary to law.
{3} Accordingly, we affirm the Secretary’s decision to grant a permit, but we set aside the Secretary’s final order because it was improperly limited to one year, and we remand to the Secretary for reconsideration of an order consistent with this opinion.
BACKGROUND
{4} These appeals concern a privately owned existing landfill in Sunland Park, Nеw Mexico situated adjacent to the U.S.-Mexico border to the south and near the Texas state
{5} Camino Real operated under Joab’s 1992 permit until March 1997 when it was issued a modified permit extending the term an additional ten years and allowing expansion into a new unit (unit two) of the landfill. Unit two is the current active area of the landfill and includes twelve lined disposal cells on approximately 126 acres. Unit one, the initial fifty-acre area of the landfill, was closed in apprоximately 1992 and subsequently capped, re-vegetated, and monitored as required by NMED’s regulations. Camino Real’s 1997 permit was reissued in March 2001 to address the installation of certain gas collection and control systems required by law. Camino Real continued operating under that permit through March 2006. Camino Real filed this application seeking a ten-year renewal and permission to use new lined cells in unit three of the landfill. Camino Real anticipates that unit three will accоmmodate waste receipts through at least the ten-year extension period it sought.
{6} Leading up to its consideration of Camino Real’s permit, NMED took several measures to assess community concerns about the application. For example, NMED held public meetings in June and October 2007 to explain the permitting process, receive public comment, and respond to questions. In addition, NMED met with local officials, held meetings specifically to listen to concerns over environmental issues, made records regarding Camino Real’s application available for inspection within the community, and hired a consultant to research and assemble environmental studies in the Sun-land Park area for review by the public.
{7} An NMED appointed hearing officer (Hearing Officer) conducted a public hearing on the application in Sunland Park from December 5 through December 20, 2007. During the hearing Camino Real, NMED, the City of Sunland Park, and several pro se community members — including Vargas and McMurray — entered appearances as parties. Camino Real and NMED submitted evidence and called witnesses in support of the application, and the remaining parties presented evidence and witnesses in opposition. In addition to the pro se community members, sixty-one other people gave public testimony opposing the application and fourteen submitted written comments in opposition to the lаndfill.
{8} After the hearing, the Hearing Officer issued a report containing 406 proposed findings of fact, sixty-nine conclusions of law, and a recommended final order. The Hearing Officer’s proposed final order recommended that Camino Real’s permit be approved for a ten-year period subject to compliance with thirteen conditions. This order was submitted to the Secretary for final approval and was ultimately adopted by the Secretary with some excеptions.
{9} The Secretary’s final order reflected a concern that the Hearing Officer’s report “did not include any portion of the public comment offered by [the sixty-one] people at the hearing” who were not called as witnesses by parties, but nonetheless provided testimony. The Secretary independently reviewed the transcripts containing the testimony of these individuals and disagreed with the Hearing Officer that the bases for their complaints were outside the sсope of consideration. The Secretary concluded that, pursuant to Rhino, their comments were required to be considered and justified modification of several of the Hearing Officer’s findings and conclusions, including limiting Camino Real’s renewal to only one year. The Secretary stated that
[i]n that year, [Camino Real] staff in this agency and the citizens will be able to continue to meet, and will have much more information about whether Asarco, which has negatively affectеd the health and welfare of the Sunland Park community, will be permitted by the State of Texas to reopen; whether new maquiladora development and other development anticipatedin the area will proceed, and whether it has a beneficial effect in the community.
Camino Real requested that the Secretary reconsider the one-year limit, but the request was denied. The Secretary’s decision to reduce the term of the permit from ten years to one year is the basis of Camino Real’s appeal.
DISCUSSION
1. The Secretary Lacked Authority to Limit Camino Real’s Permit to One Year
{10} This Court has jurisdiction over the appeal of an administrative action taken pursuant to the Solid Waste Act under NMSA 1978, Section 74-9-30(A) (1990). “In exercising our jurisdiction to review administrative agency decisions made under the Solid Waste Act, this Court considers whether, as a matter of law, the decision is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, not supported by substantial evidence, or otherwise contrary to law.” Joab, Inc.,
{11} Camino Real argues that the Secretary’s action limiting the landfill permit to one year was inconsistent with the Solid Waste Act and solid waste regulations in place at the time of its permit application. The Solid Waste Act states that “[e]xcept as otherwise provided by law ... each permit issued for a privately owned new or repermitted existing landfill, transfer station, recycling facility or composting facility shаll remain in effect for ten years, or for the active life of the facility, whichever is less.” § 74-9-24(G)(2). The solid waste administrative regulations in place at the time of Camino Real’s application set out a virtually identical provision. See 20.9.1.200(L)(4) NMCA (11/27/01). Because the regulations cannot be interpreted more broadly than the Solid Waste Act, our analysis focuses on whether the Secretary acted in accordance with the statute. See Family Dental Ctr. of N.M., P.C. v. N.M. Bd. of Dentistry,
{12} Camino Real’s challenge presents a question of statutory interpretation. Although the validity of NMED’s action and its interpretation of the facts are given a degree of deference, Joab, Inc.,
{13} The Secretary acknowledges that the Solid Waste Act states that permits shall remain in effect for ten years, but argues that he nonetheless acted within his discretion by limiting the duration of the permit to one year. Specifically, the Secretary argues that modification of Camino Real’s permit was justified because the New Mexico Supreme Court’s decision in Rhino created an “[e]xcept[ion] as otherwise рrovided by law” in Section 74-9-24(G), and that “[t]he [Secretary may require appropriate modifications of the permit, including modifications necessary to make the permit terms
{14} The Rhino case dealt with an application by Rhino Environmental Services, Inc. for a permit to operate a landfill in Chaparral, New Mexico approximately forty to fifty miles northeast of Sunland Park. Id. ¶¶ 2, 9 n. 2. Rhino’s permit was ultimately set asidе on appeal based on NMED’s failure to consider the community of Chaparral’s non-technical quality of life concerns and issues relating to the cumulative effects that may result from proliferation of industrial land uses. 1 Id. ¶ 42. In summary, the Court held that non-technical public input is vital to the success of the Solid Waste Act, that the Secretary should consider such issues as they relate to public health and welfare concerns not addressed by specific technical regulatiоns, and that ordinary concerns about a community’s quality of life could influence the decision of whether to issue a landfill permit. Id. ¶¶ 23-24. The Court further held that the proliferation of industrial land uses must be evaluated under the Solid Waste Act and may affect the outcome of a permit application based on whether the “cumulative effects of pollution, exacerbated by the incidences of poverty, [create] a public nuisance or hazard to public health, welfare, or the environment.” Id. ¶¶ 31-32.
{15} However, contrary to the Secretary’s assertion, Rhino does not provide a legal exception to the Legislature’s statement that, if approved, solid waste facility permits “shall remain in effect for ten years, or for the active life of the facility.” § 74-9-24(G)(2). The Court in Rhino did not address the issue of permit duration, and there is nothing to suggest that the Court intended to create a legal exception to the permit duration provision. New Mexico Courts have generally interpreted provisions “except as ... provided by law” to refer only to exceptions found in constitutional or other legislative provisions. See State ex rel. N.M. Judicial Standards Comm’n v. Espinosa,
{16} Absent an exception “as otherwise provided by law,” the Secretary lacks authority to deviate from the duration provision of Section 74-9-24(G)(2). Applying the plain meaning rule, we find the language: “shall remain in effect for ten years, or for the active life of the fаcility, whichever is less,” Section 74-9-24(G)(2), to be clear and unambiguous. See Sims v. Sims,
{17} Furthermore, we interpret the Secretary’s authority generally to impose modifications as limited by the Legislature’s inclusion of the express duration provision. Section 74-9-24(G)(2) states both that permits “shall remain in effect for ten years,” and that “[t]he [Secretary may require appropriate
{18} The statute’s history and background also demonstrate legislative intent to limit the Secretary’s discretion with respect to permit duration. In Joab, Inc., then Secretary Espinosa limited Joab’s landfill permit to five years based on regulations stating that “[t]he Director shall not issue any permit for a period longer than [ten] years, which may be renewed.”
{19} The Legislature’s decision to adopt statutory language differing from the then-existing regulations indicates a deliberate choice to create a non-discretionary minimum permit duration. The Legislature is presumed to have known the law in place at the time it adopted the Solid Waste Act. State v. Adam M.,
{20} Although the Secretary lacked authority to limit the overall duration of Camino Real’s permit to one year, the Solid Waste Act allows for intermittent reviews which could account for the Secretary’s concerns about changing conditions impacting Sunland Park. Section 74-9-24(G)(2) incorporates a provision which requires a review of landfill permits “at least every five years,” with the opportunity for additional reviews where there is “good cаuse.” Such reviews “shall address the operation, compliance history, financial assurance and technical requirements for the landfill,” and the Secretary may require appropriate permit modifications at that time. Id. These reviews require public notice, and if there is “significant public interest,” a hearing. Id. Thus, the Act allows for public oversight in order to protect a community’s health, safety, and welfare over shorter intervals, even where permits are issued for more substantial periods of time. We believe that the Legislature’s authorization for the Secretary to perform such reviews accounts for the Secretary’s concern that the circumstances affecting Sunland Park may change during the lifetime of a landfill permit which could justify action by NMED.
{21} As previously observed, in reviewing administrative determinations made under the Solid Waste Act, this Court considers only whether, “as a matter of law, the decision is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, not supported by substantial evidence, or otherwise contrary to law.” Joab, Inc.,
{22} Vargas and MeMurray generally agree that evidence of existing pollution in Sunland Park was entered into the record but disregarded by the Hearing Officer. The argument may be characterized as a challenge based on abuse of discretion or substantial evidence. We first note that contrary to Rule 12-213(A)(4) NMRA, Vargas and MeMurray have not challenged any of the findings made by the Secretary. Under this Rule, where parties fail to “set forth a speсific attack on any finding, ... such finding[s are] deemed conclusive.” Id. “A contention that a verdict, judgment or finding of fact is not supported by substantial evidence shall be deemed waived unless the argument identifies with particularity the fact or facts that are not supported by substantial evidence.” Id. Thus, Vargas and MeMurray have waived any arguments that the Secretary’s findings are not supported by substantial evidence. See Joab, Inc.,
{23} Furthermore, Vargas and MeMurray do not demonstrate that any of the Secretary’s actions constitute an abuse of discretion. “An abuse of discretion occurs when a ruling is clearly contrary to the logical conclusions demanded by the facts and circumstances of the case.” Sims,
{24} To the extent that Vargas and MeMurray argue that, by disregarding evidence of existing pollution, the permit approval is contrary to law based on the issue of proliferation, their argument again falls short. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the Hearing Officer requested special briefing from the parties to address whether the issue of proliferation, as discussed in Rhino, applied to Camino Real’s permit application. The Hearing Officer’s ultimate conclusion was that the issue of proliferation need not be considered where, as here, a permit applicant was merely requesting renewal of an existing permit as oрposed to requesting a new or additional facility. The Secretary apparently agreed by adopting the Hearing Officer’s conclusion on this issue. Vargas and MeMurray do not challenge any findings supporting this conclusion and we make no decision as to its correctness.
{25} However, even if the Hearing Officer erred by concluding that the question of proliferation need not be considered here, the error was harmless. The record reflects that, despite coming tо this conclusion, the Hearing Officer nonetheless considered the question of proliferation and found that the evidence presented was insufficient to justify denial. Specifically, he stated that “[e]ven if the proliferation analysis had been relevant ... the Opponents did not present the evidence necessary to perform a meaningful proliferation analysis in the hearing.” Again the Secretary agreed. Vargas and MeMurray have failed to challenge any findings
CONCLUSION
{26} For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the Secretary did not have the authority to limit Camino Real’s permit to one year where the New Mexico Supreme Court’s decision in Rhino did not create a legal exception to the express permit duration set out by the Solid Waste Act. The Rhino case and its discussion of non-technieal public testimony and proliferation impаct only the ultimate decision to either approve Camino Real’s landfill permit for ten years, approve it conditionally for ten years, or to deny it. Accordingly, we affirm the Secretary’s decision to grant a permit, but set aside the Secretary’s final order and remand for the Secretary to consider an order consistent with this opinion.
{27} IT IS SO ORDERED.
Notes
. One of the facts alleged in Rhino as evidence of proliferation of industrial and other noxious land uses in the area was the existence of Camino Real's landfill in Sunland Park. Id.