| Montreal, 17/07/2000 – The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has dismissed the merged Methanex and Neste Submissions on Enforcement Matters (SEM-99-001 and 00-002). The CEC Secretariat determined that, as provided by Article 14(3)(a) of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), it will not proceed further in its review of the submissions because the matter raised by the submitters is the subject of a pending arbitration proceeding initiated by Methanex under Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
In two separate but similar submissions that were merged into one by the CEC, Methanex Corporation and Neste Canada, Inc. alleged that the US government is failing to effectively enforce various environmental laws relating to water resource protection and the regulation of underground storage tanks (USTs). The submitters stated that California authorities have failed to enforce their environmental laws with the result that gasoline released from USTs has and continues to contaminate the environment, including soil, air and water.
The US government, in its response to the CEC regarding the submissions, said, among other things, that Methanex is already challenging California's enforcement of its UST regulations as part of its arbitration claim against the United States under the NAFTA Chapter 11, and that California has already undertaken substantial additional efforts to enforce the UST law.
Under Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) the CEC 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 NAAEC Article 14 criteria are met, it may then proceed with a process that, with the agreement of the CEC Council, can lead to the development of a factual record on the matter.
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 is composed of the environment ministers or the equivalent of Canada, Mexico and the United States. |
