| Montreal, 12/02/2002 – The Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America (CEC) has recommended to the CEC Council that a factual record be developed on allegations that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law by allowing wastewater to be discharged into the Magdalena River from the municipalities of Imuris, Santa Ana and Magdalena de Kino in Sonora, Mexico, without proper treatment.
The allegations were made in a citizen submission (SEM-97-002) filed with the CEC on 7 April 1997 by Comité Pro Limpieza del Río Magdalena. On 29 July 1998, Mexico filed a response to the submission. Mexico argues that some of the provisions cited by the Submitter do not apply to the matters raised in the submission, and that those that do apply have been complied with. Mexico admits there are treatment deficiencies, but claims treatment systems will be constructed or expanded for each municipality to solve those deficiencies.
The Secretariat concluded, in light of the Mexican response, that a factual record is warranted and recommended further review of Mexico's enforcement in regard to the three Sonoran municipalities of laws requiring treatment of wastewater and prohibiting water pollution.
The CEC Secretariat informed the Council of its determination on 5 February 2002, and now, five business days later, is able to provide public notification of the determination and to place the rationale for the determination in the public registry. The full text of the submission, Mexico's response and the Secretariat's factual record recommendation are available on the CEC web site, at <http://www.cec.org/citizen>.
Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) provides that the CEC Secretariat may consider a submission from any person or nongovernmental organization asserting that a Party to the NAAEC is failing to effectively enforce an 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.
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 CEC Council, the organization's governing body, is composed of the environment ministers of Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Please visit the Citizen Submission on Enforcement Matters page for more information. | 
