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Council Resolution 12-04

Council Resolution 12-04

Distribution: Limited C1, C2

C/C.01/12/RES/04/Final

ORIGINAL:  English

COUNCIL RESOLUTION: 12:04

 

Instruction to the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation regarding the submission on enforcement matters SEM-05-003 asserting that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce Articles 7, sections III and XIII; and 8, sections III and XV, of the Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y Protección al Ambiente (LGEEPA); Article 4, section III, 13, 16 and 41, section I, of the Reglamento de la Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente en Materia de Prevención y Control de la Contaminación de la Atmósfera (RPCCA); and Articles 73, sections V, VI, VII and IX, and 85, section I, paragraph b), of the Ley del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente para el Estado de Sonora(LEES); and the Normas Oficiales Mexicanas (NOMs) NOM-020-SSA1-1993 through NOM-026-SSA1-1993 

THE COUNCIL: 

SUPPORTIVE of the process provided for in Articles 14 and 15 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) regarding submissions on enforcement matters and the preparation of factual records; 

CONSIDERING the submission filed by the Academia Sonorense de Derechos Humanos, A.C., and Mr. Domingo Gutiérrez Mendívil on 26 August 2005; and the response provided by the Government of Mexico on 16 February 2006; 

HAVING REVIEWED the 4 April 2007 notification submitted to Council by the Secretariat recommending the development of a factual record with respect to certain of the assertions made by the submitters;

MINDFUL that the purpose of the final factual record is to present facts pertinent to assertions that a Party is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law; and

FURTHER MINDFUL that Mexico has indicated that the Normas Oficiales Mexicanas issued by the Ministry of Health (NOM-020-SSA1-1993 through NOM-026-SSA1-1993), included in the submission and which establish maximum atmospheric pollution levels, do not meet the NAAEC Article 45(2)(a) definition of environmental law, as their primary purpose is not to protect the environment or prevent a danger to human life or health through the prevention, abatement or control of the release, discharge or emission of pollutants or environmental contaminants; and

HAVING BEEN INFORMED that equivalent Normas Oficiales Mexicanas issued by the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources that meet the definition of environmental law are relevant to the assertions made by the submitters;

HEREBY UNANIMOUSLY DECIDES:

TO INSTRUCT the Secretariat to prepare a factual record in accordance with Article 15(4) of the NAAEC and with the Guidelines for Submissions on Enforcement Matters under Articles 14 and 15 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, regarding the assertions that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental legislation in connection with the following:

  1. the establishment of mandatory vehicle inspection programs and the establishment and operation of vehicle inspection centers, pursuant to Articles 7, section III, 8, section III, of the LGEEPA; 4, section III of the RPCCA; 73, sections V and VII, and 85, section I, paragraph B of the LEES; in the terms recommended by the Secretariat;
  2. plans for verification, monitoring and control of the polluting emissions referred to in the applicable Normas Oficiales Mexicanas issued by the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, pursuant to Articles 7, section XIII, of the LGEEPA; 16 and 41, section I, of the RPCCA; 73, sections VI and IX of the LEES;
  3. specific actions to reduce and control emissions of pollutants to the atmosphere in the city of Hermosillo pursuant to Article 13 of the RPCCA in the terms recommended by the Secretariat;
  4. the issuance of the Municipal Environmental Protection Program, pursuant to Article 8, section XV, of the LGEEPA, in the terms recommended by the Secretariat.

TO DIRECT the Secretariat to provide the Council with its overall work plan for gathering the relevant facts, as well as to keep this Council informed of any future changes or adjustments to such plan; to provide the Council with the draft factual record and to provide the Parties with the opportunity to provide comments on the accuracy of the factual record in accordance with Article 15 (5) of the NAAEC.

 

APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL:

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Dan Mc Dougall

Government of Canada

 

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Enrique Lendo Fuentes

Government of the United Mexican States

 

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Michelle DePass

Government of the United States

Instruction to the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation regarding the submission on enforcement matters SEM-05-003 asserting that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce Articles 7, sections III and XIII; […]