CEC Receives Submission on the Environmental Impact of the Sonora Railway Project in Sonora, Mexico
Tiohtià:ke (Montreal), 3 October 2024 — Yesterday, the Center for Biological Diversity and Defensa Ambiental del Noroeste, organizations based in the US and Mexico, respectively, filed a submission under Chapter 24 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA/CUSMA) with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). The Submitters assert that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental laws to assess the environmental impacts of a railway project linking the municipalities of Ímuris, Santa Cruz, and Nogales in the state of Sonora, Mexico.
In submission SEM-24-003 (Sonora Railway Project), the Submitters assert that the railway project did not undergo the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process as required for this type of infrastructure project. In particular, the Submitters claim that Mexico did not evaluate the environmental impacts of the project prior to starting construction and did not issue an environmental impact authorization in a timely manner, failing to uphold the preventive nature of the EIA. Although the state of Sonora allegedly filed for a provisional authorization of the project, the Submitters note that this type of provisional authorization does not exist under applicable environmental law. Accordingly, the Submitters allege that by not following the EIA process and treating information related to the project as confidential, the relevant authorities are keeping the full impacts of the project from public knowledge. The Submitters also state that the railway project crosses a Natural Protected Area, a conservation ranch known as Rancho El Aribabi, and contributes to habitat fragmentation in a biodiverse region that is home to endangered species such as the jaguar, ocelot and black bear, as well as at least one endemic species, the Sonora mud turtle.
The Submitters cite provisions from the Mexican Constitution, the General Act on Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente—LGEEPA), the LGEEPA EIA Regulations (Reglamento de la LGEEPA en Materia de Evaluación del Impacto Ambiental) and the Internal Regulations of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Reglamento Interior de la Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales).
The Secretariat will review the submission and determine, within 30 days, whether it meets the requirements of USMCA / CUSMA Articles 24.27(1), (2) and (3). To learn more, please consult the registry page for the submission SEM-24-003 (Sonora Railway Project).
The CEC SEM Process
The CEC Submissions on Enforcement Matters process supports public participation, information-sharing between governments and the public, and transparency and openness in the effective enforcement of environmental law in North America. If you have reason to believe that an environmental law is not being effectively enforced by Canada, Mexico or the United States, the SEM process may address your concerns.
As of 1 July 2020, the CEC’s SEM process is governed by USMCA Articles 24.27 and 24.28 of the Environment Chapter of the free trade agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States (CUSMA, T-MEC, USMCA).
Want to learn more about the SEM process? Please watch this two-minute video for an introduction: