IV

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 63

Concerning the establishment of a North American Commission on the

Environment.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 11, 1993

Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. RICHARDSON) submitted the following

concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Concerning the establishment of a North American

Commission on the Environment.

Whereas the completion of the North American Free Trade

Agreement (NAFTA) will strengthen economic links

among the United States, Mexico and Canada;

Whereas such agreement will increase commerce, trade, and

economic development in and among the three nations;

Whereas expanded trade and economic development under

NAFTA is likely to increase transboundary environmental damage;

Whereas environmental needs must be addressed to protect

public health, retain a decent quality of life, and fulfill

the promise of NAFTA to promote sustainable development and ensure that environmental standards will be a
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full part of, and not be sacrificed for, the economic development of all NAFTA parties;

Whereas greater involvement by the Governments of the

United States and Mexico is necessary to address the environmental and public health problems in the United

States-Mexico border area;

Whereas there has been concern expressed in the United

States and Mexico that there are insufficient governmental financial resources committed to meet the needs

for environmental infrastructure in the United StatesMexico border region;

Whereas a valuable supplement to government funding for

environmental cleanup and protection projects in the

United States-Mexico border region would be access to

funds in the international capital markets;

Whereas access to international capital markets will be facilitated by the creation of independent, public and private,

financial entities with the power to incur and issue debt,

backed by government guaranties, supported by the right

to collect user fees on facilities constructed, and authorized to receive payments from governments;

Whereas there is an expressed need by the Government of

Mexico for increased technical assistance for training in

environmental enforcement, regulatory development, environmental impact assessment, and natural resources

management;

Whereas there is a need to promote greater pollution prevention, voluntary service and corporate philanthropy in the

United States-Mexico border region;

Whereas to further protect the environment in the NAFTA

region, there is a need for a North American Commission
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on the Environment to complement the work of the

NAFTA Free Trade Commission on environmental aspects of the NAFTA;

Whereas a lack of appropriate environmental laws, standards

or enforcement could lead to additional environmental

damage or create an incentive for companies to relocate

operations in areas with relatively weaker environmental

laws, standards or enforcement;

Whereas there is a need to promote greater public participation in environmental protection and stronger community

right-to-know initiatives for the residents in the NAFTA

region; and

Whereas further study may reveal the need for a stronger bilateral program between the United States and Canada

to address environmental protection issues related to

NAFTA: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring),

3 SECTION 1. CREATION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COMMIS4 SION ON THE ENVIRONMENT.

5 (a) Not later than the date of the enactment of legis6 lation implementing the North American Free Trade

7 Agreement (NAFTA), the President should reach agree8 ment with the Governments of Mexico and Canada on the

9 establishment of a North American Commission on the

10 Environment (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Commis11 sion’’ or ‘‘NACE’’) to—
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1 (1) create and administer a Border Environ2 mental Fund to address the cleanup of environ3 mental damage and the construction of facilities to

4 help prevent environmental and related public health

5 problems in the United States-Mexico border region,

6 (2) strengthen local environmental protection

7 institutions along the United States-Mexico border

8 and create a United States-Mexico Border Volunteer

9 Corps,

10 (3) participate as an equal partner with the

11 NAFTA Free Trade Commission on resolution of

12 environmental disputes and other environmental is13 sues related to NAFTA,

14 (4) establish a process to improve enforcement

15 of environmental laws not covered by NAFTA that

16 may affect trade or investment patterns, the global

17 commons or transboundary environmental condi18 tions,

19 (5) establish a process and timetable to raise

20 and harmonize environmental standards relating to

21 products, as well as production and process methods,

22 and establish criteria for the use of trade measures

23 related to production and process methods,
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1 (6) promote improved pollution prevention, in2 creased public participation in environmental protec3 tion, and community right-to-know principles,

4 (7) develop, with strong public participation, a

5 voluntary code of environmental practices for compa6 nies operating within the NAFTA region, and

7 (8) serve as a forum for consideration of long8 term regional environmental issues and development

9 of proposals to continually improve the environment

10 and public health in the NAFTA region.

11 (b) The Commission under subsection (a) should be

12 established as follows:

13 (1) The membership of the Commission shall be

14 determined through negotiation among the NAFTA

15 parties, except that the representatives shall be min16 isters responsible for the environment or their des17 ignees. The Commission shall establish its rules and

18 procedures.

19 (2) The Commission shall establish operating

20 committees with responsibility for the tasks de21 scribed in subsection (a).

22 SEC. 2. BILATERAL UNITED STATES-MEXICO ACTIVITIES.

23 (a) The Commission should create and administer a

24 Border Environmental Fund (hereinafter referred to as

25 the ‘‘Fund’’) to address cleanup of existing environmental
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1 problems and construction of facilities to help prevent fu2 ture environmental and related public health problems in

3 the United States-Mexico border region.

4 (b) The Fund should be chartered by Congress to

5 carry out the following:

6 (1) Identify priorities and distribute funds for

7 projects to clean up environmental damage in the

8 United States-Mexico border region that are agreed

9 to by the Governments of the United States and

10 Mexico:

11 (A) The Governments of the United States

12 and Mexico shall reach agreement on a finan13 cial commitment lasting not less than five years

14 for clean-up projects and shall authorize the

15 Fund to sell bonds in the amount of the agreed

16 financial commitment. Because cleanup projects

17 will not create revenue-generating facilities, the

18 bonds used to finance cleanup shall be jointly

19 guaranteed by the governments, and the gov20 ernments shall appropriate annually to the

21 Fund the funds needed to service and redeem

22 the bonds.

23 (B) Each year, the Fund shall hold hear24 ings in Washington, DC, Mexico City and sites

25 along the United States-Mexico border area and
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1 shall receive public comments on the priorities

2 of clean-up projects. The Fund shall issue a

3 draft report identifying priorities and shall pro4 vide a reasonable period of time for further

5 comments before issuing its final priorities for

6 the year. Spending on such projects shall then

7 be in accordance with such priorities.

8 (2) Provide financial guarantees on the debt of

9 public and private financial entities in the United

10 States-Mexico border region with respect to projects

11 to create, replace, or improve environmental infra12 structure. The charter related to this subsection

13 should include the following provisions:

14 (A) The obligations underwritten by the

15 Fund shall not have any guaranty, express or

16 implied, of the United States Government or

17 any of its agencies.

18 (B) The Fund shall give preference to

19 projects that generate user fees to help retire

20 debt issued to construct facilities.

21 (C) The capital of the Fund contributed by

22 the Governments of the United States and Mex23 ico shall be in equal amounts and shall be not

24 less than $200,000,000 and not more than

25 $500,000,000.
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1 (D) The guaranty of the Fund should con2 fer on underlying debt instruments issued by

3 public and private financial entities the lowest

4 investment grade ratings from independent and

5 internationally recognized securities ratings or6 ganizations for the purpose of leveraging the

7 Fund to the maximum extent possible so that

8 the greatest possible ratio exists between the

9 amount of debt guaranteed by the Fund and

10 the amount of capital in the Fund.

11 (E) The Fund shall have a board of direc12 tors comprised of an equal number of members

13 representing the United States and Mexico. The

14 members from the United States shall be ap15 pointed by the President.

16 (F) The board of directors shall be charged

17 with the duty of financial management of the

18 Fund and shall report to the Commission.

19 (G) The board of directors should be pro20 vided with an independent staff in order to dis21 charge its responsibilities.

22 (H) Each year, the Fund shall hold hear23 ings in Washington, DC, Mexico City and sites

24 along the United States-Mexico border area and

25 shall receive public comments on the priorities
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1 of environmental infrastructure projects. The

2 Fund shall issue a draft report identifying pri3 orities and shall provide a reasonable period of

4 time for further comments before issuing its

5 final priorities for the year. The final report

6 shall guide the Fund in providing guarantees

7 for that year.

8 (c) The Commission should work with State and local

9 officials, community groups, nongovernmental organiza10 tions, and local business groups to strengthen local initia11 tives along the United States-Mexico border area to pro12 tect and improve the environment, and to enhance cross13 border cooperation for environmental protection. To help

14 strengthen local initiatives, the Commission shall ensure

15 that the United States and Mexico assign Federal environ16 mental employees to deal solely with border environmental

17 issues, and work closely and frequently with local rep18 resentatives. The Commission shall also establish a United

19 States-Mexico Border Volunteer Service, in cooperation

20 with the Commission on National and Community Service,

21 to expand volunteer assistance activity in the fields of pub22 lic health, civil engineering, environmental sciences, urban

23 planning and architecture, and to promote initiatives

24 aimed at increasing the level of corporate philanthropy in

25 the United States-Mexico border region.
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1 SEC. 3. TRILATERAL ACTIVITIES.

2 (a) The Commission should participate as an equal

3 partner with the Free Trade Commission established by

4 Chapter 20 of the North American Free Trade Agreement

5 on environmental issues related to the following:

6 (1) The implementation or further elaboration

7 of the Agreement.

8 (2) The resolution of disputes that may arise

9 regarding its interpretation or application. The

10 North American Commission on the Environment

11 (NACE) shall help identify what are environmental

12 disputes, and participate actively at each step in the

13 dispute resolution process. The NACE should main14 tain a roster of capable and impartial environmental

15 experts, comparable to the roster of trade experts

16 created by the Free Trade Commission. Panels to

17 resolve NAFTA environmental disputes should con18 tain an equal number of panelists from the rosters

19 of the Free Trade Commission and the NACE.

20 (3) The supervision of work of all committees

21 and working groups established under the Agree22 ment, referred to in Annex 2001.2.

23 (4) Any other matter that may affect the oper24 ation of the Agreement.

25 (b) The Commission should establish a process to im26 prove enforcement of environmental laws, standards, and
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1 regulations that affect trade or investment patterns, the

2 global commons or transboundary environmental condi3 tions, and which are not subject to NAFTA dispute settle4 ment procedures. This process should include the follow5 ing:

6 (1) Public hearings, consultation with the par7 ties, and annual reports on each party’s enforcement

8 of relevant laws, standards, and regulations.

9 (2) Consultation between parties on enforce10 ment shortcomings identified by the Commission’s

11 reports.

12 (3) If consultations do not resolve outstanding

13 issues in a timely fashion, the right for parties to re14 quest that the Commission consider sanctions.

15 (4) If the Commission agrees that issues not re16 solved by consultation warrant financial penalties, it

17 may authorize the requesting party to levy a charge

18 of not more than 1 percent ad valorem on all im19 ports from the other party with whom there had

20 been consultations. The funds collected shall be de21 posited in an environmental protection fund adminis22 tered by the Commission and used to finance addi23 tional enforcement and remediation of problems

24 caused by lack of enforcement. The Commission
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1 should seek to link the size of the levy to the finan2 cial needs created by the lack of enforcement.

3 (c)(1) The Commission should establish a process

4 and timetable to raise and harmonize environmental

5 standards relating to products and investments, as well

6 as production and process methods, and to establish cri7 teria for the use of trade measures related to production

8 and process methods.

9 (2) With respect to product and investment stand10 ards, the Commission shall work with the relevant

11 NAFTA Committees to establish a timetable to harmonize

12 standards to the highest level that exists among the par13 ties, and a process to review and raise such standards over

14 time.

15 (3) With respect to standards and trade measures for

16 production and process methods, the Commission shall es17 tablish a process and timetable which—

18 (A) is consistent with guidelines being devel19 oped by the OECD and the General Agreement on

20 Tariffs and Trade (GATT), where appropriate;

21 (B) seeks to enhance environmental protection

22 while taking into account the objective of minimizing

23 negative trade effects; and
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1 (C) includes a commitment to repeatedly review

2 standards with the intent to create additional envi3 ronmental protection.

4 (d)(1) The Commission should promote technical co5 operation among the NAFTA parties, improved pollution

6 prevention, increased public participation in environmental

7 protection and community right-to-know principles, where

8 such principles are not in place.

9 (2) With respect to increased public participation in

10 environmental protection, the Commission’s work shall in11 clude—

12 (A) serving as the inquiry point for NAFTA en13 vironmental issues; and

14 (B) developing, in conjunction with the Free

15 Trade Commission—

16 (i) opportunities for timely public comment

17 on NAFTA disputes that involve environmental

18 issues;

19 (ii) publication, as appropriate, of tran20 scripts of dispute panel hearings and delibera21 tions; and

22 (iii) a guarantee that final reports of dis23 pute panels shall be made public within 15 days

24 after it is transmitted to the Commission.
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1 (e) The Commission should develop, with strong pub2 lic participation and close consultation with nongovern3 mental organizations, community groups, local official and

4 business groups, a voluntary code of best environmental

5 practices for multinational corporations operating within

6 the NAFTA region, and a mechanism to certify and pub7 licize compliance by companies.

8 (f) The Commission should, with strong public par9 ticipation, consider long-term regional environmental is10 sues and develop proposals to continually improve the en11 vironment and public health in the NAFTA region, includ12 ing—

13 (1) developing a process to facilitate participa14 tion by NAFTA parties in future environmental and

15 conservation agreements that may rely on measures

16 which, on their face, would conflict with the parties’

17 obligations under NAFTA;

18 (2) developing environmental guidelines for ac19 cession to NAFTA by other countries;

20 (3) reviewing United States-Canada environ21 mental issues to determine whether existing agree22 ments are adequate to address issues of

23 transboundary environmental damage, threats to the

24 global commons or efforts to attract investment by
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1 relaxing domestic health, safety or environmental

2 measures;

3 (4) initiating negotiations among NAFTA par4 ties on possible future changes to NAFTA to ad5 dress environmental concerns not envisioned by the

6 current Agreement; and

7 (5) developing a program to support the work

8 and goals of the United Nations Commission on

9 Sustainable Development.

10 SEC. 4. SECRETARIAT.

11 (a)(1) The Commission shall establish and oversee a

12 Secretariat comprising national sections.

13 (2) Each party shall—

14 (A) establish a permanent office of its section;

15 (B) provide full-time staff in equal numbers to

16 enable the Commission to carry out its mandate;

17 (C) be responsible for the operation and costs

18 of its section, and the remuneration and payment of

19 expenses of panelists and members of committees

20 and scientific review boards established;

21 (D) designate an individual to serve as Sec22 retary for its section, who shall be responsible for its

23 administration, management, and coordination with

24 the NAFTA Free Trade Commission; and
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1 (E) notify the Commission of the location of its

2 section’s office.

3 (3) The Secretariat shall—

4 (A) provide assistance to the Commission;

5 (B) provide administrative assistance to dispute

6 resolution panels; and

7 (C) as the Commission may direct, support the

8 work of other committees and groups established

9 under the NAFTA and otherwise facilitate the oper10 ation of the NAFTA.

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