On March 24, 2020, the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), published in the Federal Official Gazette an Official Communication which establishes March 23 to April 17, 2020, as non-working days for the purposes of terms and administrative procedures before SEMARNAT and any of its decentralized administrative bodies, in order to contribute to social distancing as part of the measures for combating the COVID-19 pandemic. This official communication means that all terms, deadlines, and administrative procedures will be started again as of Monday, April 20.
It is important to point out that the suspension of terms subject to this official communication do not suspend environmental duties to comply with other obligations that do not require any filing or confirmation of compliance by SEMARNAT or any of its decentralized administrative bodies. This would include the measurement of air emissions, measurement and payment of fees for waste water discharges or issues related to the integral management of wastes, among others.
SEMARNAT administrative agencies include the National Agency for Industrial Safety and Environmental Protection (ASEA), the National Water Commission (CONAGUA), the National Commission for Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), the National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR), the National Commission for Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity, the Mexican Institute of Water Technology, the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change, and the Federal Attorney General's Office for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA).
This GT Alert is limited to non-U.S. matters and law.
For more information and updates on the developing situation, visit GT’s Health Emergency Preparedness Task Force: Coronavirus Disease 2019.