| Montreal, 1/08/2003 – The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) determined yesterday that citizen submission SEM-03-002 (Home Port Xcaret) does not provide sufficient information to allow the CEC Secretariat to determine whether it warrants the request for a response from the Government of Mexico in accordance with Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). The submission was filed on 14 May 2003, by Alfonso Ciprés Villarreal, president of Movimiento Ecologista Mexicano AC, on behalf of various ecological groups, two academic groups, and one individual citizen.
The Submitters allege violations and irregularities in the permit-granting process for the "Home Port Xcaret" project on the Mexican Riviera in the state of Quintana Roo. They assert that the project "will irreparably affect and destroy the natural resources and coral ecosystems, gravely endangering countless marine species." They assert that the project's environmental impact authorization (EIA) violates Article 34 of the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente—LGEEPA) and Articles 37, 38 and 40 through 43 of the Environmental Impact Regulations thereunder, since the project developer failed to make certain information about the project available to the public and to hold a public consultation or information meeting. The Submitters further assert that the developer failed to process the EIA with the Quintana Roo State Secretariat of Development and Environment (Secretaría de Desarrollo y Medio Ambiente).
The submission is accompanied by a video showing marine life and a reef system near where the project will be located, with numerous newspaper articles. However, it does not provide sufficient information for the Secretariat to determine whether to request a response from Mexico. The Submitters have 30 days from receipt of the determination to file a submission with the Secretariat that meets the processing criteria for citizen submissions under the NAAEC.
The citizen submissions mechanism of the CEC enables the public to play a whistle-blower role on matters of environmental law enforcement. Under Article 14 of the NAAEC, any person or nongovernmental organization may submit a claim alleging that a NAFTA partner has failed to effectively enforce its environmental law. Following a review of the submission, the CEC may investigate the matter and pursue a factual record of its findings.
For further information, including the Secretariat's determination on this submission, please consult: <http://www.cec.org/citizen/>.
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