Last month, the Mexican Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources announced stricter wastewater discharge regulations, releasing the first update of the so-called Official Mexican Standard NOM-001-SEMARNAT-2021 in 25 years.
Environmental groups lauded the new regulations; agricultural and industry groups complain about the lack of consultation, unnecessarily ambitious targets, and the high compliance costs. Officially, Mexico’s wastewater discharge regulations must be updated every five years. This had however not been done since 1996. Currently, 70% of Mexico’s surface water is contaminated or heavily polluted.
While environmental groups applauded the change in regulations, the agricultural sector does not agree. Contrary to claims by the Mexican government that the changes in regulations were a product of a participatory process, many agricultural stakeholders complain about the lack of consultation. According to Mexico’s main agricultural lobby organization CAN, the lack of consultation with farmers and other parties who will be affected by these changes.
Source: agroberichtenbuitenland.nl
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