| Montreal, 22/02/2002 – The Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America (CEC) today requested a response from Mexico to a submission from area residents asserting that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental laws with respect to the noise emissions originating the Mexico City International Airport (Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México-AICM).
Jorge Rafael Martínez Azuela and other residents of the area surrounding the AICM presented the submission (SEM-02-002) on 7 February 2002, which asserts that federal and local environmental authorities have failed to effectively enforce Articles 5 (paragraphs V and XIX), 8 (paragraph VI), 155, and 189 through 204 of the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente); Mexican Official Standard NOM-ECOL-081-1994; and Articles 80 through 84 of the Environmental Law of the Federal District. According to the Submitters, there are studies showing that the noise emissions of the AICM exceed the limits established in environmental law, causing irreversible damage to thousands of persons living near the airport.
The CEC Secretariat has concluded that this submission complies with the requirements of Article 14(1) of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). Taking into account the criteria set out in NAAEC Article 14(2), the Secretariat determined that further review of the allegations concerning the effective enforcement of the provisions whose enforcement would prevent damage to the health of thousands of people, would contribute to achieving the objectives of the Agreement. Because of this determination, the Secretariat has asked Mexico to respond to the allegations of the submission. According to Article 14(3), Mexico has 30 days to respond or, in exceptional circumstances, 60 following receipt of this request.
Under Article 14 of NAAEC, the Secretariat may consider a submission from any nongovernmental organization or person 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 takes further steps that 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, the organization's governing body, is composed of the environment ministers (or the equivalent) of Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Please visit the Citizen Submission on Enforcement Matters page for more information. | 
