CEC Council instructs CEC Secretariat to prepare the Rio Magdalena factual record

The Río Magdalena submission was filed with the CEC on 7 April 1997, by Comité Pro Limpieza del Río Magdalena. The Submitters contend that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law by allowing wastewater to be discharged into the Magdalena River from the municipalities of Imuris, Santa Ana and Magdalena de Kino in Sonora, Mexico, without proper treatment.

On 5 February 2002, in light of the submission and Mexico's response, the Secretariat recommended to the Council that a factual record be prepared, and recommended further review of Mexico's enforcement in regard to the three Sonoran municipalities of laws requiring treatment of wastewater and prohibiting water pollution. On 7 March 2002, the Council instructed the Secretariat to prepare a factual record as recommended by the Secretariat.

Under Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), the Secretariat may consider a submission from any person or nongovernmental organization asserting that a Party to NAAEC is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law. Where the Secretariat determines that the NAAEC Article 14(1) criteria are met, it may then proceed with a process that can lead to the development of a factual record on the matter. In accordance with Article 15(2) of NAAEC, the Secretariat shall prepare a factual record if the Council, by a two-thirds vote, instructs it to do so.

The CEC was established under NAAEC to address environmental issues in North America from a continental perspective, with a particular focus on those arising in the context of liberalized trade. The CEC Council, the organization's governing body, is composed of the environment ministers (or equivalent) of Canada, Mexico and the United States.