The CEC Calls for Public Comments on the Revised Guidelines for Articles 14 and 15 of the NAAEC

During the last Regular Session of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation's (CEC) Council in June in Mérida, Yucatán, the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) received the mandate from Council to conduct a public review on the revised Guidelines Submissions on Enforcement Matters under Articles 14 and 15 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation.

JPAC is seeking public input and recommendations to form the basis for its advice to Council on the guidelines for citizen submissions. In addition, a JPAC working group will convene a workshop where individuals from each country will be selected to attend representing various groups and interests. The selection, to be made by the working group, will be based on those who made the most substantive comments. This workshop will be held in January 1999 at the CEC Secretariat in Montreal.

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) was created in 1994 by the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) to facilitate cooperation and public participation to foster conservation, protection and enhancement of the North American environment for the benefit of present and future generations, in the context of increasing economic, trade and social links between Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The CEC consists of a Council of cabinet-level officials–composed of Canadian Environment Minister Christine Stewart, Mexican Secretary of the Environment, Natural Resources and Fisheries, Julia Carabias, and American Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, Carol Browner–a Secretariat and a Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC).

JPAC is composed of fifteen members, five from each of the three countries, appointed by the respective governments. It acts as a single, transnational body. Its members act independently of outside authority. JPAC may provide advice to the Council on any matters within the scope of the NAAEC.

FORMAT FOR COMMENTS: In order to facilitate this review, a revised version of the Guidelines has been prepared, indicating the new modifications and additions to the text in bold characters. Additionally, a chart of the revised Guidelines has been prepared to identify each change from the original version, so as to allow you to incorporate your comments into the appropriate column. The Revised Version can be found in the CEC Web site http://www.cec.org   under the heading Citizen Submissions, section Revised Guidelines. To receive a copy of these documents by mail, please send your request to Manon Pepin by e-mail at mpepin@ccemtl.org  or by fax at (514) 350-4314 in Montreal or at (525) 659-50-21 in Mexico City.

DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS: Please make sure that your comments are sent by 9 December 1998. With your comments, please include your name, firm or organization, address, telephone and fax numbers as well as e-mail address. Comments can be sent to JPAC in Montreal or to Mexico City:

Please note that a complete registry of citizen submissions related to Article 14 received by the CEC is available and can be found on the CEC Website at http://www.cec.org  under the Citizen Submissions section. The information on this registry is also available upon request to the CEC Secretariat.