| Montreal, 2/08/2007 – On 26 July, the Asociación Ecológica Santo Tomas, the Tabasco Human Rights Committee (Comité de Derechos Humanos de Tabasco) and the community of Los Aguilares (the “Submitters”) presented a submission to the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). The Submitters assert that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental laws with respect to a sludge treatment and disposal project being carried out by Consorcio de Arquitectura y Ecología (Caresa) in the municipality of Cunduacán, Tabasco.
In submission SEM-07-005 (Drilling Waste in Cunduacán), the Submitters assert that Caresa began to dump drilling sludge before environmental impact and hazardous waste management authorizations were issued. They further assert that the waste is being dumped just meters from local homes, thereby affecting residents’ health. The Submitters state that they filed a citizen complaint with the Office of the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente), but assert that they have not been properly informed of the processing of their complaint and that in the meantime, Caresa continues to carry on its activities.
The CEC Secretariat 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 with the CEC Secretariat 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. |
