| Montreal, 26/11/2002 – The Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) of North America today requested a response from Mexico to a submission alleging that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce conditions in an environmental impact authorization in connection with the "El Boludo" low-grade placer gold mining project in the municipality of Trincheras, Sonora, Mexico.
Minera Secotec S.A. de C.V. ("Secotec") is carrying out the El Boludo Project on a cattle ranch owned by the Submitters, Arcadio, Leoncio, Fernanda and Milagro Pesqueira Senday. The Submitters assert that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce environmental impact assessment and hazardous waste rules under the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente--LGEEPA) and associated regulations, as well as the Mining Law and its regulations, in connection with the El Boludo project. Specifically, they claim that Secotec is failing to comply with conditions listed in an environmental impact authorization (EIA) issued for the project, damaging 300 hectares of protected flora and fauna. The Submitters argue that despite ongoing violations of the LGEEPA and the EIA, federal authorities have signed a compliance agreement with Secotec, lifting a temporary order requiring Secotec to stop some of its operations and take corrective actions.
The submission (SEM-02-004) was originally filed on 23 August 2002 and was dismissed on 19 September 2002, because of a lack of supporting information. The Submitters re-filed on 10 and 24 October 2002. The CEC Secretariat has determined that the revised submission meets the requirements in Article 14(1) of the NAAEC and that it contains allegations that merit requesting a response from Mexico. Pursuant to Article 14(3), Mexico has 30 days or, in exceptional circumstances, 60 days to respond to the submission 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 may then proceed with a process 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.
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