| Montreal, 24/10/1997 – The Council of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) today instructed the CEC Secretariat to release to the public the Final Factual Record of the Cruise Ship Pier Project in Cozumel, Quintana Roo.
The factual record was prepared by the CEC Secretariat in response to a public submission filed last year, alleging failure to enforce environmental laws concerning the environmental impact assessment procedures in relation to the construction of pier and port facilities in Cozumel, Mexico.
The factual record does not reach legal conclusions or determinations. The purpose of the factual record is to clarify the facts as they pertain to allegations raised by the submitter and information provided by the Parties and public.
The Secretariat prepared the factual record in accordance with Article 15 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), otherwise known as the environmental side accord to NAFTA. Under articles 14 and 15 of the NAAEC, any person or organization may file a submission with the Secretariat of the CEC alleging that one of the NAFTA countries is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law. The CEC Secretariat submitted its final factual record to the CEC Council on July 30.
The CEC Council is made up of Canadian Environment Minister Christine Stewart, Mexican Secretary of Environment, Fisheries and Natural Resources Julia Carabias and US EPA Administrator Carol Browner.
The three Mexican organizations which filed the submission are the Mexican Center for Environmental Law, the Grupo de los Cien and the Natural Resources Protection Committee.
The submission and other relevant documents related to the development of the factual record are available on the CEC Website: http://www.cec.org. | 
