Mexican Laws and Regulations

Various Mexican provisions apply to hazardous waste exports to the United States, including laws, regulations, and standards issued by various government entities involved in this process.

Laws:

General Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection Act (Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y Protección al Ambiente)

Establishes provisions for hazardous waste exporting and importing. Article 153 sets out general requirements for those wishing to export hazardous wastes.

Uniform Waste Prevention and Management Act (Ley General para la Prevención y Gestión Integral de Residuos Peligrosos)

Title V, “Hazardous Waste Management,” ch. VII, “Importing and Exporting of Hazardous Wastes,” sets out the requirements for hazardous waste import or export authorizations (Articles 85–94).

Foreign Trade Act (Ley de Comercio Exterior)

This sets out the general requirements for exporting any type of goods, whether wastes or new materials. Under LGEEPA Article 153, waste exportation is subject to the Foreign Trade Act.

Customs Act (Ley Aduanera)

Articles 108–112 establish rules for the temporary import of goods by the maquiladora industry and subsequent return of the goods to the country of origin along with any wastes generated by the processes.

Regulations:

Regulation to the General Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection Act Respecting Hazardous Wastes

Articles 43–57 of this regulation set out the specific requirements for importing and exporting hazardous wastes, including permitting and grounds for authorization or denial of export or import permits.

Ground Transportation of Hazardous Materials and Wastes Regulation

This regulation of the Ministry of Communications and Transportation sets out the requirements for ground and rail waste transportation units as well as the characteristics of containers and packaging to be used in transporting wastes.

Standards:

NOM-052-Semarnat-1993 (formerly NOM-052-ECOL-1993)

Characteristics of hazardous wastes and the list thereof as well as the threshold above which a waste is considered hazardous due to its toxicity in the environment.

NOM 053-SEMARNAT-1993. Extractive testing procedure for determining the constituents making a waste hazardous due to its toxicity in the environment.

NOM-002-SCT/2003 List of most frequently transported hazardous substances and materials.

NOM-003-SCT/2000 Characteristics of labels of containers and packaging used in the transportation of hazardous substances, materials, and wastes.

NOM-004-SCT/2000 Identification system for units intended for transportation of hazardous substances, materials and wastes.

NOM-005-SCT/2000 Emergency preparedness information for transportation of hazardous substances, materials and wastes.

NOM-006-SCT2/2000 Basic aspects for daily visual inspection of units intended for trucking of hazardous materials and wastes.

NOM-007-SCT2/2002 Marking of containers and packaging intended for transportation of hazardous substances and wastes.

NOM-010-SCT2/2003 Compatibility and segregation provisions for storage and transportation of hazardous substances, materials and wastes.

NOM-011-SCT2/2003 Conditions for transportation of hazardous substances and materials in limited quantities.

NOM-012-SCT-2-1995 Maximum weight and dimensions of trucks and other vehicles traveling on roads and bridges under federal jurisdiction.

NOM-020-SCT-2-1995 General requirements for design and construction of tank trucks intended for transportation of hazardous materials and wastes.

International agreements:

Decision C(2001)107/FINAL of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Describes the wastes subject to control of transboundary movement in accordance with the OECD, required filings of forms and documentation, and the notification procedure.

Article 6 of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal as well as the instruction manual or control system guide published by the Basel Convention Secretariat. – These documents describe the wastes subject to control of transboundary movement under the Basel Convention, the required forms and other requirements, and the notification procedure.

Annex III of the Agreement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States for the Protection and Improvement of the Environment in the Border Area.

Describes the notification procedure for hazardous waste exports between Mexico and the United States.

Other provisions:

Decision establishing categories for services of ground transportation of hazardous materials and waste (Diario Oficial de la Federación, 5 November 1996).

Decision announcing the administrative procedure for return of hazardous waste as well as the official form and instructions for completion (Diario Oficial de la Federación, 4 November 1998).

Clarification of decision announcing the administrative procedure for return of hazardous waste as well as the official form and instructions for completion published in the DOF on 4 November 1998 (Diario Oficial de la Federación del 26 de marzo de 1999).

Decision announcing the filings recorded in the Federal Registry of Company Filings (Registro Federal de Trámites Empresariales) applied by the Ministry of the Environment, Natural Resources, and Fisheries and its decentralized administrative bodies and establishing various regulatory improvement measures (Diario Oficial de la Federation, 21 February 2000).

Decision establishing the classification and codification of goods whose import and export are subject to regulation by the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (Diario Oficial de la Federación, 29 March 2002).