This chapter shall be known and cited as the “Antifreeze Safety Ordinance.”
(Ordinance 2004-06, sec. 1, adopted 10/26/04)
(A) 
Antifreeze and engine coolant contain ethylene glycol, an extremely toxic yet sweet tasting substance that injures many children and kills thousands of animals every year in the United States.
(B) 
The National Safety Council, the American Medical Association, and the American Association of Poison Control Centers have noted that the addition of nontoxic bittering agents to toxic household products can make such products so unpalatable that many children reject the projects upon, or shortly after, tasting them.
(C) 
Organizations that support the health and safety of animals favor the passage of legislation that requires a bittering agent to be added to antifreeze and engine coolant.
(D) 
When added in sufficient quantities, the nontoxic bittering agent denatonium benzoate has been shown to effectively render antifreeze and engine coolant unpalatable.
(E) 
The cost of adding denatonium benzoate to antifreeze and engine coolant is approximately 2 cents per gallon. By law, antifreeze manufacturers are already required to add this bittering agent to antifreeze and engine coolants sold in Oregon and California.
(Ordinance 2004-06, sec. 2, adopted 10/26/04)
(A) 
Beginning January 1, 2005, it shall be unlawful for any retail merchant, including automotive repair and similar businesses, to sell, offer for sale, or use in conjunction with automotive repair or maintenance any engine coolant or antifreeze that contains more than 10 percent ethylene glycol, unless such engine coolant or antifreeze also contains:
(1) 
A minimum of 30 parts per million of denatonium benzoate; or
(2) 
Another nontoxic bittering agent in amounts that have been scientifically demonstrated to render engine coolant and antifreeze as unpalatable as that containing 30 parts per million of denatonium benzoate.
(B) 
Beginning January 1, 2005, every retail merchant, including automotive repair and similar businesses, that sells, offers for sale, or uses in conjunction with automotive repair or maintenance any engine coolant or antifreeze must possess documentation from the product manufacturer or packager that sets forth: (1) the minimum percentage amount of ethylene glycol contained in each container of engine coolant or antifreeze in the retail merchant’s possession; and (2) if a nontoxic bittering agent is required under subsection (A), the minimum amount and trade or scientific name of the nontoxic bittering agent each container of the product contains. This documentation shall be furnished to any person authorized to enforce this chapter or other member of the public upon request. If the retail merchant, manufacturer, or packager places the information required by this subsection on the product container or label, however, the retail merchant need not possess any further documentation that also contains the required information for such labeled product.
(C) 
Manufacturers and packagers of engine coolant and antifreeze that must contain a nontoxic bittering agent pursuant to subsection (A) shall maintain records of their compliance with that subsection, including the trade name, scientific name, and ingredients of any bittering agent it has used, which records shall be furnished to any person authorized to enforce this chapter or other member of the public upon request.
(D) 
The following are exempt from the requirements of subsection (A) through (C):
(1) 
The sale of a motor vehicle that contains engine coolant or antifreeze.
(2) 
The sale, offering for sale, or use in conjunction with automotive repair or maintenance of antifreeze or engine coolant that was in the possession of a retail merchant prior to the effective date of this chapter. The exemption in this subsection shall expire on June 30, 2005; provided, however, that the county sheriff may, in his discretion, extend this exemption at the request of a retail merchant who:
(a) 
Had in its possession one or more wholesale container of 55 gallons or more of antifreeze or engine coolant prior to the effective date of the ordinance from which this chapter derives; and
(b) 
Can demonstrate that allowing the exemption to expire would impose an unreasonable economic burden.
(Ordinance 2004-06, sec. 3, adopted 10/26/04)
Each sale, offer for sale, or use in conjunction with automotive repair or maintenance of antifreeze or engine coolant in violation of section 98.03(A) and (B) shall be a separate offense punishable pursuant to and in accordance with NMSA 1975, section 4-37-3 (1993).
(Ordinance 2004-06, sec. 4, adopted 10/26/04)