| Montreal, 20/05/2008 – On 12 May 2008, the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) issued a notification recommending to the CEC Council that a factual record be developed for consolidated submissions SEM-06-003 (Ex Hacienda el Hospital II) and SEM-06-004 (Ex Hacienda El Hospital III). The Secretariat will develop a factual record if the Council so orders by a two-thirds vote of its members.
Submissions SEM-06-003 and SEM-06-004, submitted for consideration to the Secretariat on 17 July and 22 September 2006, respectively, were filed by nine residents of the community Ex Hacienda El Hospital, —represented by Myredd Alexandra Mariscal Villaseñor— and Roberto Abe Almada (the “Submitters”). The Submitters assert that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law with respect to alleged offenses committed during the operation, closing and dismantling of a pigment production plant operated by BASF Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. (BASF), located in the Ex Hacienda El Hospital site in Cuautla, Morelos.
In its response, Mexico asserts that it ordered actions to evaluate and restore contaminated soils at the plant operated by BASF, that it levied fines on the company for its noncompliance, and that it closed the property to ensure site remediation efforts. It also notes that recommendations provided in an environmental audit were followed and that the citizen complaints relating to the matter raised by the Submitters were duly processed. Mexico also states that the Secretariat should proceed no further since the matter is subject to a pending proceeding, and that it did not provide information on the investigation of environmental offenses due to their confidential nature.
After considering the submission in light of Mexico’s response, the Secretariat considers that central questions remain open in regard to the investigation and prosecution of environmental crimes, the alleged illegal burying of waste in the ground at the facility during its period of operation, and the deposit of waste from the dismantling of the BASF plant in the Ex Hacienda El Hospital community. The Secretariat notes that the pending proceedings alleged in Mexico’s response are not related to the assertions on which the Secretariat bases its recommendation. The Secretariat further recommends that the factual record also address the alleged offenses penalized under the Federal Penal Code.
The CEC was established under the North American Agreement for Environmental Cooperation (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 CEC Secretariat informed the Council of its recommendation on 12 May 2008, and is now authorized to provide public notification and to present its reasoning in the public registry.
For more information, please visit the CEC's Citizen Submissions on Enforcement Matters page.
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