| Montreal, 6/05/2005 – On 3 May 2005, the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace Mexico, Mr. Alfonso Aguirre, Mr. Shaye Wolf, The American Bird Conservancy, The Los Angeles Audubon Society, The Pacific Environment and Resources Center, and Wildcoast (the Submitters) presented a citizen submission to the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) of North America in which they assert that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce the provisions of its environmental legislation by permitting the construction of a liquid natural gas re-gasification terminal, immediately adjacent to the Coronado Islands-situated near the coast of the state of Baja California-and a breeding colony of the endangered seabird Xantus's Murrelet (Synthliboramphus hypoleucus) and other species considered at risk.
In submission SEM-05-002 (Coronado Islands), the Submitters assert that Mexico's Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales—Semarnat) released a decision approving the Environmental Impact Assessment related to the construction of this re-gasification terminal. They assert that this constituted a failure in the effective enforcement of Articles 78 to 83 of the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (General del Equilibrio Ecológico y de Protección al Ambiente—LGEEPA), as well as Article 5 of the General Wildlife Law (Ley General de Vida Silvestre). The Submitters assert that the Environmental Impact Assessment that Mexico approved was insufficient in that it did not adequately take into account the impacts of light pollution on nocturnal seabirds, the risk of catastrophic explosions, the risks of introducing rats to the Coronado Islands or other impacts related to tanker and gas terminal activity in concluding that the environmental impacts of the project would be insignificant. They also assert that the terminal project fails to satisfy several substantive standards under the LGEEPA and the General Wildlife Law. The Submitters further allege that in approving the project, Mexico failed to account for the Coronado Islands' alleged status since July 2003 as a specially protected natural area.
The CEC Secretariat is presently analyzing the submission to determine whether it complies with the requirements of Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC).
The CEC's Citizen Submissions mechanism enables the public to play an active "whistle-blower" role in issues related to the enforcement of environmental legislation. In accordance with Article 14 of the NAAEC, any citizen or nongovernmental organization may make a submission when he or she deems that any one of the NAFTA partners is failing to effectively enforce its environmental legislation. Following a review of the submission, the CEC may investigate the matter and publish a factual record of its findings.
Please visit the Citizen Submissions on Enforcement Matters page for more information. |
