| Montreal, 20/07/2006 – On 17 July 2006, Myredd Alexandra Mariscal Villaseñor, representing nine residents of the Ex Hacienda El Hospital community in Cuautla, Morelos (the "Submitters"), filed with the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) a citizen submission asserting that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law with respect to alleged illegal acts occurring during the operation, closing and dismantling of a paint pigment manufacturing plant operated by BASF Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. (“BASF”) from 1973 to 1997. A prior submission with similar claims (SEM-06-001—Ex Hacienda El Hospital) filed by another submitter was withdrawn on 8 June 2006.
Submission SEM-06-003 (Ex Hacienda El Hospital II) lists 17 actions and omissions that, according to the Submitters, constitute a failure to enforce—or effectively enforce—various federal laws, including the General Law for Waste Prevention and Comprehensive Management (Ley General para la Prevención y Gestión Integral de Residuos). The assertions made by the Submitters include the following: that BASF used the federal government’s environmental audit program to successfully avoid the enforcement of legislation; that the Federal Attorney General for Environmental Protection (Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente—Profepa) failed to sanction BASF for having permitted, during the facility’s closing, contaminated soil and other material to be taken from the site by community inhabitants for their use; and that Profepa has not been successful in ensuring a full assessment and clean-up of the contamination caused by the operation and dismantling of the facility.
The Secretariat of the CEC will now analyze the submission to determine whether it meets the requirements of Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC).
The CEC citizen submission mechanism allows citizens to play an active "whistleblower" role in matters relating to environmental law enforcement. Pursuant to NAAEC Article 14, any citizen or nongovernmental organization may file a submission when it believes that a NAFTA partner is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law. After reviewing the submission, the CEC may investigate the matter and publish a factual record of its findings.
For more information, please visit the CEC's Citizen Submissions on Enforcement Matters page. |
