Submission

Summary of the matter addressed in the submission:

The Submitter asserts that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental laws relating to wastewater management, public health, transboundary notification procedures through binational channels, and overall management of the water resource, leading to what the Submitter refers to as a transboundary sewage crisis in the area.

The Submitter asserts that inadequate wastewater infrastructure and intentional discharges of millions of gallons of raw sewage each day are contributing to the rapid deterioration of the Tijuana River Valley ecosystems and adjacent coastal areas in California, US. The Submitter adds that Mexico is failing to conduct investigations, issue sanctions or closure orders, require remedial measures and infrastructure improvements, as well as initiate legal proceedings against violators to prevent further environmental damage.

The Submitter adds that Mexico’s inadequate wastewater infrastructure and management is forcing people to live and work near open sewage and exposing local populations to toxic chemicals and dangerous pathogens, causing serious harm to public health and the environment. According to the Submitter, continuous sewage discharge into the Tijuana River which flows into the United States, constitutes a severe transboundary environmental hazard.

Names and citations of the environmental laws in question:

The Submitter cites provisions from the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States (Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos – CPEUM), the General Act on Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente – LGEEPA), the National Waters Act (Ley de Aguas Nacionales – LAN), the Federal Act on Environmental Responsibility (Ley Federal de Responsabilidad Ambiental – LFRA), the Federal Law of the Sea (Ley Federal del Mar – LFM), the Mexican Navigation and Maritime Commerce Act (Ley de Navegación y Comercio Marítimos – LNCM), the National Code of Penal Procedures (Código Nacional de Procedimientos Penales – CNPP) , the Federal Penal Code (Código Penal Nacional – CPN), the Official Mexican Standard NOM-001-Semarnat-2021 (NOM-001), the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR), the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Protocol of San Salvador), the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the 1983 La Paz Agreement.

Submitter(s):

San Diego Coastkeeper (“Coastkeeper”)