| Montreal, 25/01/2007 – On 18 January 2007, the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) of North America issued a notification to the CEC Council recommending that a factual record be developed for submission SEM-05-002 (Coronado Islands).
In the submission, filed with the CEC Secretariat on 3 May 2005, the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace Mexico, Alfonso Aguirre, Shaye Wolf, the American Bird Conservancy, the Los Angeles Audubon Society, Pacific Environment and Resources Center, and Wildcoast (the “Submitters”), represented by James Jay Tutchton, allege that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law by authorizing the construction of a liquefied natural gas regasification terminal off the coast of Baja California and adjacent to the Coronado Islands, which provide habitat for a breeding colony of Xantus's Murrelet and other endangered species. In its response to the submission, filed with the Secretariat on 10 January 2006, the Government of Mexico asserted that the Submitters based their allegations on the environmental impact assessment prepared by Chevron Texaco de México, S.A. de C.V., the proponent, without taking into account the requirements, conditions, and mitigation measures imposed by Mexico in approving the project, and without acknowledging that compliance will need to be demonstrated through an environmental quality monitoring program and backed by a bond. According to Mexico, the conditions attached to the project authorization show that the environmental authority thoroughly assessed each issue identified by the Submitters.
Mexico further asserted that consideration of the submission should proceed no further in view of pending administrative proceedings, and requested that the Secretariat keep confidential the files related to those proceedings.
After reviewing the submission in light of Mexico's response, the Secretariat notified the Council that it considers the submission to warrant the development of a factual record to gather additional information. The factual record would address central questions that remain open regarding Mexico’s enforcement of Articles 34 and 35 of its General Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection Act (Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente—LGEEPA), as well as principles 1–3 of Article 5 of the General Wildlife Act (Ley General de Vida Silvestre) and standards 1–3, 5, and 7 of LGEEPA Article 79, during the project’s environmental impact assessment. These questions relate to enforcement of requirements regarding public consultation and scope of the environmental impact assessment. They also concern Mexico’s consideration of the opinions of government wildlife experts. The Secretariat also determined that there are no pending proceedings requiring the Secretariat to dismiss the submission pursuant to Article 14(3)(a) North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC).
The Secretariat’s Executive Director, Felipe Adrián Vázquez-Gálvez, recused himself from involvement with the Coronado Islands submission upon beginning his term in September 2006, and Legal Officer Paolo Solano of the Secretariat’s Submissions on Enforcement Matters Unit recused himself from involvement with the submission upon beginning his employment at the CEC in January 2006. Neither Mr. Vázquez-Gálvez nor Mr. Solano participated in the factual record recommendation for the submission.
The CEC was established under the 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 Council, the organization's governing body, is composed of the top environment officials of Canada, Mexico and the United States.
The citizen submissions mechanism of the CEC enables the public to play a whistle-blower role on matters of environmental law enforcement. Under Article 14 of the NAAEC, any person or nongovernmental organization may submit to the Secretariat a claim alleging that a NAFTA partner is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law.
The Secretariat informed the Council of its recommendation on 18 January 2007, and now, five business days later, is authorized to provide public notification of the determination and to present its reasons in the public registry. The Secretariat will prepare a factual record in connection with the submission if the Council, by a two-thirds vote, instructs it to do so.
For more information, please visit the CEC's Citizen Submissions on Enforcement Matters page. |
