The Americas This Week
Citizen complaints reflect environment’s decline under NAFTA

By Talli Nauman | June 21, 2005

“Americas This Week” is a weekly column written by IRC Americas Program analysts. Reader responses and comments to this column and other Americas analysis should be sent to: americas@irc-online.org.

With the 12th annual meeting of the three top environmental administrators of North America being held June 21-23, this is a good time to look at the most recent citizen complaints pending at their Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), such as the one on hazardous waste mishandling in Mexico City.

That complaint, over the Mexican federal government’s failure to prosecute management of the Alca footwear factory for illegal hazardous waste in the Iztapalapa district, got the go-ahead from the CEC leaders on June 9, making it the most recent case to be forwarded for an investigation.

The latest complaint filed was the one on May 3, which asserts that Mexico is violating its environmental laws by permitting the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) re-gasification terminal adjacent to the Coronado Islands , off the coast of Baja California state. Noting that the location is a breeding colony for Xantus’s Murrelet and other species considered at risk, plaintiffs from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border joined together in challenging its approval.

On June 2, the commission asked the submitters to file more information. It gave them 30 days. Later commission staff will decide whether to recommend an investigation, otherwise known as a factual record. The CEC Council, which is made up of the environmental chiefs of Mexico , the United States and Canada , makes the final decision about ordering investigations.

The staff also has recommended a probe of the complaint about Lake Chapala pollution in the west-central state of Jalisco. That complaint was made for the second time in August 2003. The recommendation went to the council on June 1, this year.

In the allegations, nine environmental organizations claim that results of public participation in consultations are not reflected in the implementation of plans and policies intended to protect the Chapala watershed. The group of submitters also claims that federal authorities have allowed decisions of the Lerma-Chapala Watershed Council to take effect without formally adopting them, effectively keeping submitters from challenging them. The filers add that the Arcediano dam project on the Santiago River , which flows out of Lake Chapala , should not have been approved prior to addressing river pollution. They allege that the authorities did not properly handle complaints of Juanacatlán residents about monitoring and remediation of the river pollution.

Mexican authorities argue for the submission to be dismissed. They also request that part of its content be deemed confidential. Authorities maintain that criteria for the sustainable use of water were enforced in the Arcediano dam project and that a comprehensive basin cleanup program covers the Santiago River . Mexico further defends its position with the argument the National Water Commission’s decisions are separate from those of watershed councils.

For the case to proceed, the CEC Council must now act on the recommendation of the staff, or secretariat. In contrast to the recommendation in this case, the secretariat dismissed another Mexican complaint this year, after receiving federal responses. It was over alleged failure to process a complaint against environmental service providers Ecolimpio de México and Transportes J. Guadalupe Jiménez.

The government has asked for dismissal of yet another complaint for failure to halt gravel mining on private property in Puerto Penasco. Of course, not all cases are about Mexican problems. Currently the United States and Mexico are facing six complaints. Dozens have been filed over the lifetime of the CEC.

The complaint process is a testament to the CEC’s commitment to public participation. If it were not for dedicated volunteer advisers, commission staff and some high level authorities, the experimental system would have disappeared during the 11 years since the inception of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to which it is linked. A long drawn-out review of the process revealed plenty of opinions that it should be restricted.

On the other hand, the review also clearly showed the many opinions in favor of putting more teeth in the process. No other free trade agreement offers this avenue of redress. It allows citizens to raise environmental issues outside their national boundaries, if they are dissatisfied with the response of domestic authorities.

This results in opportunities for widespread distribution of information highlighting the problems at hand. In turn, the pressure generated has led to actions that protect the environment. For example, accusations against authorities for the toxic waste abandoned at the Metales y Derivados site in Tijuana , were a precursor to the hard won promise of a federal cleanup.

Yet the end result of an investigation is no more than a compilation of case history. No remedies are provided within the process. It might not be a bad idea for the commission to experiment with strengthening the enforcement aspect.

In any case, when issues such as these come up at the tri-national meeting in Quebec , it will behoove NAFTA’s environmental administrators to go as far as they can toward promoting the public’s demands for pollution control.

After all, the environment hasn’t been improving since NAFTA’s inception in 1994.

Talli Nauman is the Americas Program Associate at the International Relations Center (online at www.irc-online.org). She originally published this opinion in her weekly column at The Herald Mexico, based at the daily El Universal in Mexico City, as part of her independent media project Journalism to Raise Environmental Awareness, which she initiated with support from the MacArthur Foundation.

Published by the Americas Program at the International Relations Center (IRC, online at www.irc-online.org). ©2005. All rights reserved.

Recommended citation:
Talli Nauman, "Citizen complaints reflect environment’s decline under NAFTA," Americas Program (Silver City, NM: International Relations Center, June 21, 2005).

Web location:
http://www.americaspolicy.org/columns/amprog/2005/0506complaints.html

Production information:
Writer: Talli Nauman
Layout: Tonya Cannariato, IRC