| Montreal, 9/07/2004 – On 30 June 2004, pursuant to Article 14(2) of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) requested a response from Mexico to submission SEM-04-001/Hazardous Waste in Arteaga, submitted to the Secretariat on 25 May 2004, by Genaro Meléndez Lugo and José Javier, José Genaro, Miguel Ángel, Carlos Ariel, Juan Antonio, Iris Elidia and Cruz Adriana Meléndez Torres (the Submitters), represented by Mr. Francisco Garza Vara. The submission asserts that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental laws, specifically several provisions of the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y de Protección al Ambiente—LGEEPA) and its hazardous waste regulation. These assertions arise from an alleged failure to process complaints against the companies Ecolimpio de México, SA de CV, and Transportes J. Guadalupe Jiménez, SA, and to penalize those companies. The Submitters argue that the companies' operations cause serious damage to the environment and their property, and that the improper management of hazardous waste seriously endangers their health and physical well-being.
First submitted on 27 January 2004, the submission was rejected on 20 February because it did not meet the requirements of Article 14(1) of the NAAEC. On 16 March, the CEC received the revised version of the submission, which was again rejected on 20 April 2004, because the Secretariat of the CEC concluded that the information provided was insufficient to establish whether the submission was intended to further enforcement of the law or to harass an industry. On 25 May the Secretariat received a new version, clarifying the submission. On this occasion, the Secretariat determined on 30 June that the Submission met the requirements of Article 14 (1) and (2) of the NAAEC. The Secretariat’s determination is available by clicking here. (Available in Spanish only)
According to Article 14(3) of the NAAEC, Mexico has up to 60 days to submit its response. Thereafter, the CEC Secretariat will review the submission in light of the Party's response, to determine whether it warrants the development of a factual record.
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.
Please visit the Citizen Submission on Enforcement Matters page for more information. |
