CEC Secretariat recommends factual record for Environmental Pollution in Hermosillo II submission

In the submission, filed with the Secretariat on 30 August 2005, Academia Sonorense de Derechos Humanos and Domingo Gutiérrez Mendívil (the Submitters) allege that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law as regards air pollution in Hermosillo, Sonora. The Submitters allege, among other things, that the City of Hermosillo has failed to implement environmental programs required by law, including air quality monitoring and mandatory vehicle inspection.

In its response, Mexico maintains that it has not failed to effectively enforce its environmental law because its actions reflect a reasonable exercise of its discretion in regulatory matters, and they result from a bona fide decision to allocate resources to other, higher priority means of controlling pollution from suspended particles. Mexico states that all three levels of government are taking action to address matters raised in the submission, such as establishing the pollutant release and transfer register (Registro de Emisiones y Transferencia de Contaminantes, RETC); inspection and monitoring of air pollution sources; paving streets; modernizing the public transit system; and air quality monitoring in Hermosillo. Mexico states that it does not carry out vehicle inspections in Hermosillo because it lacks information required to set up such a program.

Mexico also contends that the submission should be dismissed because it does not satisfy admissibility requirements under Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC).

After reviewing the submission in light of Mexico’s response, the Secretariat has notified Council that it considers the submission to warrant the development of a factual record. The Secretariat found that the submission raises central questions that Mexico’s response leaves open regarding the alleged failure, by the state of Sonora and the municipality of Hermosillo, to fulfill statutory obligations regarding air pollution. The response fails to answer questions concerning the establishment of a vehicle inspection program, the effectiveness of the air quality monitoring system, and the existence of plans for inspecting air pollution sources. Furthermore, the response does not resolve questions regarding the decision to prioritize paving of roads and modernizing the public transit system as means for controlling air pollution in Hermosillo and not to pursue other programs.

The CEC Secretariat’s executive director, Felipe Adrián Vázquez-Gálvez, recused himself from involvement in all matters relating to the submission upon beginning his term in September 2006. Mr. Vázquez-Gálvez did not participate in preparing the factual record recommendation.

The CEC was established under the 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 Council, the organization’s governing body, is composed of the top environment officials of Canada, Mexico and the United States.

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 to the Secretariat a claim alleging that a NAFTA partner is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law.

The Secretariat informed the Council of its recommendation on 4 April 2007, and now, five business days later, is authorized to provide public notification of the determination and to present its reasons in the public registry. The Secretariat will prepare a factual record in connection with the submission if the Council, by a two-thirds vote, instructs it to do so.

For more information, please visit the CEC's Citizen Submissions on Enforcement Matters page.