CEC Council votes for publication of a factual record concerning the Wetlands in Manzanillo submission
Montreal, 28 September 2016—The Council of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) voted to make public the factual record concerning submission SEM-09-002 (Wetlands in Manzanillo), filed with the Secretariat by Bios Iguana, A.C., a Mexican organization, and Esperanza Salazar Zenil, an individual. The submission asserts that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law in connection with the environmental impact assessment approval of two gas projects terminals in Colima, Mexico.
On 7 June 2016, the CEC Secretariat delivered the final factual record to Council for its vote on publication, in accordance with NAAEC Article 15(7). The factual record presents information relevant to the assertions raised in the submission with regard to: i) the relationship between the Liquified Petroleum Gas and the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal projects and the ecological zoning of the territory; and ii) the environmental impact assessment for the LNG Terminal project with respect to the water flow (hydrodynamics) of the Cuyutlán lagoon.
The purpose of a factual record is to provide an objective presentation of the facts relevant to assertions set forth in a submission under Article 14 of the NAAEC, and to allow readers to draw their own conclusions regarding a Party’s environmental law enforcement. Although a factual record is not to contain conclusions or recommendations, it is expected to generally outline the history of the environmental enforcement issue raised in the submission, the relevant legal obligations of the Party, and the actions of the Party in fulfilling those obligations.
For further information, please visit the CEC Submissions on Enforcement Matters website
©Tom Riggle
About the CEC
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) was established in 1994 by the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States through the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, a parallel environmental agreement to NAFTA. As of 2020, the CEC is recognized and maintained by the Environmental Cooperation Agreement, in parallel with the new Free Trade Agreement of North America. The CEC brings together a wide range of stakeholders, including the general public, Indigenous people, youth, nongovernmental organizations, academia, and the business sector, to seek solutions to protect North America’s shared environment while supporting sustainable development for the benefit of present and future generations
The CEC is governed and funded equally by the Government of Canada through Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Government of the United States of Mexico through the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, and the Government of the United States of America through the Environmental Protection Agency.