Submission

Summary of the matter addressed in the submission:

The Submitters allege that wastewater originating in the municipalities of Imuris, Magdalena de Kino, and Santa Ana, located in the Mexican state of Sonora, is being discharged into the Magdalena River without prior treatment. According to the Submitters, the above contravenes Mexican environmental legislation governing the disposal of wastewater.

Summary of the response provided by the Party:

“In view of the facts which form the subject of the submission, two relevant aspects arise: First, that most of the facts argued by the Submitters took place prior to January 1st 1994, the date NAFTA came into force, thus we argue . the legal impossibility for the Hon. Commission to take cognizance of facts which occurred before it came into being. The second … is based on the inadmissibility of the Submission since the Submitters, before having recourse to NAFTA, did not exhaust the legal remedies available under Mexican law.”

The Party states, however, that “[T]he fact that some deficiencies in legal technicalities can be detected in the drafting of the submission should not lead Mexico to disregard the environmental problems which indeed exists in the Magdalena River; nevertheless, it is important to establish that the Mexican Government has not remained indifferent to these environmental disturbances, but on the contrary, in coordination with the State of Sonora and the Municipalities of Imuris, Magdalena de Kino and Santa Ana, has worked to clean up the waters of said River, even though they have had to face problems due to a lack of budgetary resources which has prevented meeting all of the set goals. Currently there . is an Executive Project for the Upgrading and/or Extension of the Sanitary Sewer System and Wastewater Treatment Plants of the Cities of Imuris, Magdalena de Kino and Santa Ana, State of Sonora, which includes planned actions with a total approved budget for the amount of $7,942.7 thousand pesos … [I]n spite of the existence of a generic obligation to treat waste waters emanating from urban centers under both Federal and State law, the economic limitations faced by Mexico still make full enforcement of this provision impossible, although there emerges from the respective governments’ plans a clear strategy of gradual solutions to the wastewater treatment problems at the national level.” The Party’s response includes a “Brief Presentation of the Environmental Problems of the Magdalena River (overview, actions taken by the Mexican Government, citizens’ complaints responded to by the Mexican Government and measures programmed to solve the problem)”.

With regard to the environmental laws invoked by the Submitters, the Party points out that “they do not quote exclusively the Articles which are strictly related to this Submission, but rather make a generic listing of all the provisions that are in any way relevant to water issues .”. Notwithstanding, the Party’s response refers to each one of the many provisions that the Submitter alleges were violated. With regard to the provisions on water pollution control, the Party indicates, for each one of the violations alleged by the Submitters, how the Mexican Government complied with or applied the corresponding provision. With regard to the allegation of the Submitters that there has been a lack of effective enforcement of the right to environmental information, the Party points out that “the Submitter has not requested any information according to the requirements detailed in Article 153 Bis, for which reason it cannot argue that there is an infringement to its detriment of the quoted Articles of the Chapter on the right to environmental information.” Finally, in relation to citizen complaints, the Party indicates that “[T]he Submitter does not specify the facts on which it bases its allegations that there was an infringement to its detriment of the Chapter on Citizen Complaints, for which reason we categorically deny that the Mexican Government has violated the Articles quoted, all the more so because … three citizen complaints filed by the Submitter have been processed.”

Names and citations of the environmental laws in question:

1. Law No. 217 on Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection for the State of Sonora 2. Law No. 38 of waters for the State of Sonora 3. Law No. 109 of health for the State of Sonora 4. General Law on Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection

Submitter(s):

Comité pro Limpieza del Río Magdalena