Mexico, City December 6th, 2022.
Yesterday, the Guidelines that establish the requirements, deadlines, and procedures for the presentation and registration of the Programs for Compliance to Mexican Official Standard NOM-001-SEMARNAT-2021 (the «Guidelines») were published in the Official Gazette of the Federation.
The Guidelines are applicable to all persons responsible for discharging wastewater into any type of receiving body owned by the Nation (rivers, aquifers, basins, riverbeds, waterways, vessels, marine waters, etc.) in accordance with Mexican Official Standard NOM-001-SEMARNAT-2021, which establishes the permissible limits of pollutants in wastewater discharges into receiving bodies owned by the Nation, published on March 11, 2022,[1] by the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources («SEMARNAT» for its Spanish acronym).
These Guidelines are voluntary and must be submitted when the company must modify its facilities or the production processes of the activities that generate wastewater discharge in order to comply with the parameters and permissible limits of pollutants set forth in NOM-001-SEMARNAT-2021,[2] and according to the analysis or evidence, the adjustments and actions exceed the timeframe established in NOM-001-SEMARNAT-2021 for its entry into force, i.e., April 3, 2023.
The Compliance Program must contain, among other requirements, the actions, and commitments that the company is carrying out to comply with NOM-001-SEMARNAT-2021. Likewise, a Progress Report must be submitted within the first five working days of the months of March and September of each year.
In case of not complying with the commitments established in the Compliance Program, the prerogatives subject to the program will be lost, so in case of not complying with the parameters and permissible limits of pollutants established in NOM-001-SEMARNAT-2021, the company will be subject to economic sanctions in terms of the applicable laws.
The Compliance Program must be submitted to the National Water Commission before April 3, 2023, and if it is not submitted, the company must continue to comply with the deadlines set forth in NOM-001-SEMARNAT-2021.
The Guidelines will become effective on the same day as NOM-001-SEMARNAT-2021, that is, March 11, 2023.
Our environmental practice group is at your service to clarify any doubts you may have on this matter.
S I N C E R L Y
Juan Carlos Serra
serra@basham.com.mx
Jesús Colunga
jcolunga@basham.com.mx
Rodolfo Barreda
rbarreda@basham.com.mx
Carolina Nogal Gómez
cnogal@basham.com.mx
[1] See more at: https://www.basham.com.mx/publication-of-the-nom-001-semarnat-2021-which-establishes-the-permissible-limits-of-pollutants-in-wastewater-discharges-into-receiving-bodies-owned-by-the-nation-in-the-official-gazzette-of-the-fed/
[2] Specifically those provided in TABLES 1 and 2, as well as the APPENDIX NORMATIVE of NOM-001-SEMARNAT-2021.
