CEC hero image, a photo of Cadereyta Refinery

Submission

Cadereyta Refinery

Submission ID: SEM-24-002
Party concerned: Mexico
Date filed: February 5, 2024
Submission Status: Closed

Latest Update: June 6, 2024

The Secretariat determined that the revised submission again did not meet the Article 24.27(2) and (3) criteria, and terminated the process.

Summary of the matter addressed in the submission:

The Submitter asserts that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental laws to regulate air emissions from the Ing. Héctor R. Lara Sosa Pemex refinery (known as the Cadereyta Refinery) in Nuevo León, Mexico and to manage the resulting air pollution in the Monterrey metropolitan area.

The Submitter asserts that Mexico is failing to address the air pollution issues caused by the operation of the Cadereyta oil refinery, owned and operated by Pemex. The Submitter alleges that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce environmental laws to manage air emissions and the resulting air pollution from the facility affects the Monterrey metropolitan area which has a population of 7 million people. The Submitter asserts that air pollution from the refinery has become worse over the last 5 years despite appeals from residents and the state of Nuevo León to the federal authorities to take action to improve air quality.

Names and citations of the environmental laws in question:

The Submitter cites provisions from the Mexican Constitution, the General Act on Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente), Law of the National Agency of Industrial Safety and Protection of the Environment in the Hydrocarbons Sector (Ley de la Agencia Nacional de Seguridad Industrial y de Protección al Medio Ambiente del Sector Hidrocarburos), Environmental Responsibility Act (Ley de Responsabilidad Ambiental) and other regulatory instruments.

Submitter(s):

The name of the Submitter is protected from disclosure in accordance with ECA Article 16(1)(a)

Submission Timeline

February 5, 2024

The Secretariat began reviewing the submission under Articles 24.27(2) and (3) of the USMCA.

Submission - Submission authored by Submitter(s) on 04/02/2024

Acknowledgement - Communication to Submitter(s) authored by Secretariat on 05/02/2024

March 6, 2024

The Secretariat notified the Submitter(s) that the submission did not meet all the Article 24.27(2) and (3) criteria, and that the Submitter(s) has 60 days to submit a revised submission.

Determination - Secretariat Determination under Article 24.27(2) and Article 24.27(3) of the CUSMA/USMCA authored by Secretariat on 06/03/2024

May 6, 2024

The Secretariat received a revised submission and began to analyze it.

Submission - Submission authored by Submitter(s) on 06/05/2024

Acknowledgement - Communication to Submitter(s) authored by Secretariat on 07/05/2024

June 6, 2024

The Secretariat determined that the revised submission again did not meet the Article 24.27(2) and (3) criteria, and terminated the process.

Determination - Secretariat Determination under Article 24.27(2) and Article 24.27(3) of the CUSMA/USMCA authored by Secretariat on 06/06/2024