Mexico City, August 24, 2020.
On August 24, 2020, the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources ("SEMARNAT") published an agreement lifting the suspension of deadlines and legal terms in such Ministry as well as in its decentralized administrative bodies. The Agreement will be in effect until September 30, 2020.
By virtue of the foregoing, as of August 24 and until September 30, the legal terms and deadlines for the effects of the formalities, procedures and services under the competence of SEMARNAT and its decentralized administrative bodies are resumed, in accordance with the following rules:
The office of the Citizen Contact Space will operate from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays, for the procedures in charge of:
a) The Dirección General de Vida Silvestre (Wildlife General Directorate); and
b) The General Directorate of the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone and Coastal Environments.
2. The office of the Citizen Contact Space will operate from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, for the procedures in charge of:
a) The General Directorate of Environmental Impact and Risk;
b) The General Directorate for the Integral Management of Hazardous Materials and Activities;
c) The General Directorate of Air Quality Management and Pollutant Release and Transfer Registry;
d) and the General Directorate of Forestry and Soil Management.
It will operate from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, for the reception of procedures in charge of the Representative Offices (formerly Federal Delegations) of SEMARNAT and their respective offices of the Citizen Contact Space.
4. The SEMARNAT's Office of Parts shall operate from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. from Monday to Thursday, for the purpose of receiving correspondence and internal documentation from the different administrative units of said Secretariat.
5. The Federal Bureau of Environmental Protection ("PROFEPA") will operate from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday for the following administrative acts:
a) Issuance of approval for testing laboratories, verification units and certification bodies (PROFEPA-03-010).
b) Review, evaluation and, if applicable, certification of new vehicles at the plant (PROFEPA-03-005), related to the following Mexican Official Standards:
- NOM-042-SEMARNAT-2003. Establishing the maximum permissible limits for the emission of total hydrocarbons or non-methane, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from the exhaust of new motor vehicles whose gross vehicle weight does not exceed 3,857 kilograms, which use gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas and diesel, as well as evaporative hydrocarbon emissions from the fuel system of such vehicles.
- NOM-044-SEMARNAT-2017. Which establishes the maximum permissible emission limits for carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, non-methane hydrocarbons, non-methane hydrocarbons plus nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and ammonia, from the exhaust of new engines that use diesel as fuel and that will be used for the propulsion of motor vehicles with gross vehicle weight greater than 3,857 kilograms, as well as the exhaust of new motor vehicles with gross vehicle weight greater than 3,857 kilograms equipped with this type of engines.
- NOM-076-SEMARNAT-2012. Which establishes the maximum permissible emission levels of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides from the exhaust, as well as evaporative hydrocarbons from the fuel system, which use gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas and other alternative fuels and that will be used for the propulsion of motor vehicles with gross vehicle weight greater than 3,857 kilograms new in plant.
- NOM-079-SEMARNAT-1994. Establishing the maximum permissible noise emission limits for new motor vehicles in plant and its measurement method.
- NOM-082-SEMARNAT-1994. Establishing the maximum permissible noise emission limits for new motorcycles and motorized tricycles in plant and its measurement method.
c) Obtaining Environmental Certificate, Modality A: Environmental audit prior to requesting environmental certificate, without action plan (PROFEPA-02-001-A).
d) Obtaining Environmental Certificate, Modality C: Environmental audit subsequent to the environmental certificate request, with action plan (PROFEPA-02-001-C).
e) Application for renewal of environmental certificate, Modality A: Renewal by Environmental Diagnosis Report (PROFEPA-02-002-A).
f) Application for renewal of environmental certificate, Modality B: Renewal by environmental performance report (PROFEPA-02-002-B), related to the Mexican Norm NMX-AA-162-SCFI-2012, Environmental Auditing - Methodology for Conducting Environmental Audits and Diagnostics and Verification of Compliance with the Action Plan - Determination of the Environmental Performance Level of a Company - Evaluation of the Performance of Environmental Auditors..
g) Acts of inspection, surveillance and verification related to essential works and activities, as well as those carried out to protect, preserve and conserve natural resources in order to guarantee the human right to a healthy environment. For such effects, the legally established terms will run until the total resolution of the administrative procedure, observing at all times the sanitary dispositions and of healthy distance.
h) Acts corresponding to the substantiation of appeals for review and requests for commutation, modification and revocation.
6. The Office of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas shall operate from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the Office of the Regional Directorates of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas shall operate from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m..
The following authorizations for recreational tourism activities within Natural Protected Areas, whose expiration dates occurred between March 23 and August 23, 2020, will remain in effect until October 30, 2020:
a) Authorization to carry out recreational tourism activities within Natural Protected Areas (CNANP-00-014-A);
b) Authorization to carry out recreational tourism activities within Natural Protected Areas, Modality B; Recreational tourism activities without vehicles or transportation unit (CNANP-00-014-B);
c) Authorization to carry out recreational tourism activities within Natural Protected Areas, Modality C: Recreational tourism activities with infrastructure (CNANP-00-014-C); and
d) Extension of authorization to carry out recreational tourism activities within Natural Protected Areas (CNANP-00-015).
Regardless of the above, the holders of such authorizations or those who wish to apply for these authorizations for the first time, may present themselves at the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas or its Regional Directorates during the hours established in numeral 6 above.
The National Water Commission will operate from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, at its reception offices located, at the central level, in Mexico City; as well as, at the regional hydrological-administrative level, in the Basin Organizations and Local Directorates.
8. The Area of Attention to the Regulated and the Official Office of the National Agency of Industrial Safety and Environmental Protection of the Hydrocarbons Sector ("ASEA") shall operate from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for administrative acts inherent to the formalities and procedures under the jurisdiction of:
a) The Industrial Management Unit;
(b) The Industrial Supervision, Inspection and Surveillance Unit; and
c) The Legal Affairs Unit.
The electronic systems corresponding to those procedures whose channel of attention is this one, according to their respective file registered in the Federal Registry of Procedures and Services, remain in operation. Therefore, users may choose to submit their procedures electronically or in person.
The lawyers of the Environmental Law, National Waters and Climate Change practice of the Firm are at your disposal to answer any questions regarding the contents of this document.
A T T E N T A M E N T,
Daniel Del Rio
Ricardo Evangelista
Mariana Arrieta
