Under Articles 14 and 15 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), any citizen or nongovernmental organization can present a citizen submission to the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), alleging that a NAFTA country is failing to enforce its environmental laws.

In this space, Eco Region will present regular updates on the status of citizen submissions received by the Secretariat. Guidelines for submissions on enforcement matters under Article 14 are available from nacec.the Secretariat, in the newly published Guidelines for Submissions on Enforcement Matters Under Articles 14 and 15 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, or directly from nacec.the CEC's home page at http://www.cec.org.

North American environment ministers take next step on Cozumel

In a unanimous decision, the CEC's Council has decided that a factual record will be prepared regarding a submission on enforcement matters that concern the construction and operation of a public harbor terminal in Cozumel, Mexico.

The submission was filed in January 1996 by the Group of 100, the Committee for the Protection of Natural Resources and the Mexican Center for Environmental Law, all of which are Mexican environmental nongovernmental organizations. They asserted that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law with respect to the environmental impact assessments of a pier, passenger terminal and other infrastructure for tourist cruises on Cozumel Island, near the Paradise Coral Reef. On June 7, the CEC's Secretariat advised the Council that a factual record was warranted.

In developing the factual record, the Secretariat is directed by the Council to consider whether the Party concerned is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law since the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation's (NAAEC) entry into force on January 1, 1994. Relevant facts that existed prior to that date may also be included.

CEC decides not to further review first Canadian submission on Alberta wetlands

On July 4, the Secretariat decided not to further review the first submission presented by a Canadian citizen. The citizen submission alleged that the governments of Canada and the province of Alberta are not effectively enforcing environmental legislation intended to protect Alberta wetlands - the natural habitat of many species of fish and migratory birds. After analyzing the citizen submission, the Secretariat decided to not proceed any further with the submission considering that the matter is pending before an Alberta court. If the case is resolved in the submitter's favor, the Secretariat's review might no longer be necessary.

The citizen submission alleges that failure to enforce the Fisheries Act, the Department of Environment Act, the Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act and the Waste Water and Storm Drainage Regulation has resulted in "ongoing environmental pollution and degradation."