| Montreal, 4/12/2001 – On 29 November 2001, the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) submitted the final factual record for the Metales y Derivados submission (SEM-98-007) to the Council, pursuant to Article 15(6) of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC).
The submission, brought forward by the Environmental Health Coalition et. al. on 23 October 1998, alleges that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law in connection with the Metales y Derivados abandoned lead smelter in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The submitters contend the site poses serious threats to the health of the neighboring community and to the environment.
On 16 May 2000, the Council unanimously decided to instruct the Secretariat to prepare a factual record regarding the assertion that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce Articles 134 and 170 of the General Law on Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection. On 29 November 2001, the Secretariat submitted the final factual record to the Council, pursuant to Article 15(6). In accordance with Article 15(7) of the NAAEC, the Council may, by a two-thirds vote, make the final factual record publicly available, normally within 60 days following its submission.
Under Article 14 of NAAEC, the Secretariat 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 the NAAEC Article 14(1) criteria are met, it may then proceed with a process that can lead to the development of a factual record on the matter. In accordance with Article 15(2) of NAAEC, the Secretariat shall prepare a factual record if the Council, by a two-thirds vote, instructs it to do so.
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, the organization's governing body, is composed of the environment ministers (or equivalent) of Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Please visit the Citizen Submission on Enforcement Matters page for more information. |
