| Montreal, 19/09/2002 – The Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America (CEC) has dismissed a citizen submission that alleges that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental laws with respect to the "El Boludo" mining project on the site called "El Tiro," owned by the Submitters and located in the Municipality of Trincheras, Sonora, Mexico.
The submission (SEM-02-004) was filed by Arcadio, Leoncio, Fernanda and Milagro Pesqueira Senday on 23 August 2002. It claims that the company Minera Secotec, S.A. de C.V., has exploited the low-grade placer gold deposit of the "El Boludo" project without complying with several conditions of the environmental impact authorization. The Submitters claim the company is violating the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente--LGEEPA), paragraphs III and IV of Article 15 of the LGEEPA Hazardous Waste Regulations and the Mining Law and its Regulations.
The CEC today informed the Submitters that the submission does not meet the criteria of NAAEC's Article 14(1). In its consideration of the matter, the CEC found that, while the submission appears to meet some of the criteria of Article 14(1), it plainly does not meet the requirement of Article 14(1)(c) because it does not provide sufficient information to allow the Secretariat to review the submission. In particular, the Submitters did not provide the documentary evidence on which the submission is based. In accordance with section 6.2 of the Guidelines, however, the Submitter may provide the Secretariat with a submission that conforms to the criteria of Article 14(1) within 30 days of receipt of the determination.
Under Article 14 of NAAEC, the Secretariat may consider a submission from any person or nongovernmental organization asserting that a Party to NAAEC is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law. Where the Secretariat determines that the NAAEC Article 14(1) criteria are met, it may then proceed with a process that can lead to the development of a factual record on the matter. In accordance with Article 15(2) of NAAEC, the Secretariat shall prepare a factual record if the Council, by a two-thirds vote, instructs it to do so.
The CEC was established under 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 CEC Council, the organization's governing body, is composed of the environment ministers (or equivalent) of Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Please visit the Citizen Submission on Enforcement Matters page for more information.
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