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 environ-
mental 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 develop-
ment and ensure that environmental standards will be a
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full part of, and not be sacrificed for, the economic devel-
opment of all NAFTA parties;
Whereas greater involvement by the Governments of the
United States and Mexico is necessary to address the en-
vironmental 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 govern-
mental financial resources committed to meet the needs
for environmental infrastructure in the United States-
Mexico 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 facili-
tated 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 author-
ized 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, envi-
ronmental impact assessment, and natural resources
management;
Whereas there is a need to promote greater pollution preven-
tion, 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 as-
pects 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 participa-
tion 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 bi-
lateral program between the United States and Canada
to address environmental protection issues related to
NAFTA: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring),
SECTION 1. CREATION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COMMIS-
SION ON THE ENVIRONMENT.
(a) Not later than the date of the enactment of legis-
lation implementing the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA), the President should reach agree-
ment with the Governments of Mexico and Canada on the
establishment of a North American Commission on the
Environment (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Commis-
sion’’ or ‘‘NACE’’) to—
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shall receive public comments on the priorities
of clean-up projects. The Fund shall issue a
draft report identifying priorities and shall pro-
vide a reasonable period of time for further
comments before issuing its final priorities for
the year. Spending on such projects shall then
be in accordance with such priorities.
(2) Provide financial guarantees on the debt of
public and private financial entities in the United
States-Mexico border region with respect to projects
to create, replace, or improve environmental infra-
structure. The charter related to this subsection
should include the following provisions:
(A) The obligations underwritten by the
Fund shall not have any guaranty, express or
implied, of the United States Government or
any of its agencies.
(B) The Fund shall give preference to
projects that generate user fees to help retire
debt issued to construct facilities.
(C) The capital of the Fund contributed by
the Governments of the United States and Mex-
ico shall be in equal amounts and shall be not
less than $200,000,000 and not more than
$500,000,000.
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(D) The guaranty of the Fund should con-
fer on underlying debt instruments issued by
public and private financial entities the lowest
investment grade ratings from independent and
internationally recognized securities ratings or-
ganizations for the purpose of leveraging the
Fund to the maximum extent possible so that
the greatest possible ratio exists between the
amount of debt guaranteed by the Fund and
the amount of capital in the Fund.
(E) The Fund shall have a board of direc-
tors comprised of an equal number of members
representing the United States and Mexico. The
members from the United States shall be ap-
pointed by the President.
(F) The board of directors shall be charged
with the duty of financial management of the
Fund and shall report to the Commission.
(G) The board of directors should be pro-
vided with an independent staff in order to dis-
charge its responsibilities.
(H) Each year, the Fund shall hold hear-
ings in Washington, DC, Mexico City and sites
along the United States-Mexico border area and
shall receive public comments on the priorities
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of environmental infrastructure projects. The
Fund shall issue a draft report identifying pri-
orities and shall provide a reasonable period of
time for further comments before issuing its
final priorities for the year. The final report
shall guide the Fund in providing guarantees
for that year.
(c) The Commission should work with State and local
officials, community groups, nongovernmental organiza-
tions, and local business groups to strengthen local initia-
tives along the United States-Mexico border area to pro-
tect and improve the environment, and to enhance cross-
border cooperation for environmental protection. To help
strengthen local initiatives, the Commission shall ensure
that the United States and Mexico assign Federal environ-
mental employees to deal solely with border environmental
issues, and work closely and frequently with local rep-
resentatives. The Commission shall also establish a United
States-Mexico Border Volunteer Service, in cooperation
with the Commission on National and Community Service,
to expand volunteer assistance activity in the fields of pub-
lic health, civil engineering, environmental sciences, urban
planning and architecture, and to promote initiatives
aimed at increasing the level of corporate philanthropy in
the United States-Mexico border region.
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SEC. 3. TRILATERAL ACTIVITIES.
(a) The Commission should participate as an equal
partner with the Free Trade Commission established by
Chapter 20 of the North American Free Trade Agreement
on environmental issues related to the following:
(1) The implementation or further elaboration
of the Agreement.
(2) The resolution of disputes that may arise
regarding its interpretation or application. The
North American Commission on the Environment
(NACE) shall help identify what are environmental
disputes, and participate actively at each step in the
dispute resolution process. The NACE should main-
tain a roster of capable and impartial environmental
experts, comparable to the roster of trade experts
created by the Free Trade Commission. Panels to
resolve NAFTA environmental disputes should con-
tain an equal number of panelists from the rosters
of the Free Trade Commission and the NACE.
(3) The supervision of work of all committees
and working groups established under the Agree-
ment, referred to in Annex 2001.2.
(4) Any other matter that may affect the oper-
ation of the Agreement.
(b) The Commission should establish a process to im-
prove enforcement of environmental laws, standards, and
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regulations that affect trade or investment patterns, the
global commons or transboundary environmental condi-
tions, and which are not subject to NAFTA dispute settle-
ment procedures. This process should include the follow-
ing:
(1) Public hearings, consultation with the par-
ties, and annual reports on each party’s enforcement
of relevant laws, standards, and regulations.
(2) Consultation between parties on enforce-
ment shortcomings identified by the Commission’s
reports.
(3) If consultations do not resolve outstanding
issues in a timely fashion, the right for parties to re-
quest that the Commission consider sanctions.
(4) If the Commission agrees that issues not re-
solved by consultation warrant financial penalties, it
may authorize the requesting party to levy a charge
of not more than 1 percent ad valorem on all im-
ports from the other party with whom there had
been consultations. The funds collected shall be de-
posited in an environmental protection fund adminis-
tered by the Commission and used to finance addi-
tional enforcement and remediation of problems
caused by lack of enforcement. The Commission
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should seek to link the size of the levy to the finan-
cial needs created by the lack of enforcement.
(c)(1) The Commission should establish a process
and timetable to raise and harmonize environmental
standards relating to products and investments, as well
as production and process methods, and to establish cri-
teria for the use of trade measures related to production
and process methods.
(2) With respect to product and investment stand-
ards, the Commission shall work with the relevant
NAFTA Committees to establish a timetable to harmonize
standards to the highest level that exists among the par-
ties, and a process to review and raise such standards over
time.
(3) With respect to standards and trade measures for
production and process methods, the Commission shall es-
tablish a process and timetable which—
(A) is consistent with guidelines being devel-
oped by the OECD and the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT), where appropriate;
(B) seeks to enhance environmental protection
while taking into account the objective of minimizing
negative trade effects; and
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(C) includes a commitment to repeatedly review
standards with the intent to create additional envi-
ronmental protection.
(d)(1) The Commission should promote technical co-
operation among the NAFTA parties, improved pollution
prevention, increased public participation in environmental
protection and community right-to-know principles, where
such principles are not in place.
(2) With respect to increased public participation in
environmental protection, the Commission’s work shall in-
clude—
(A) serving as the inquiry point for NAFTA en-
vironmental issues; and
(B) developing, in conjunction with the Free
Trade Commission—
(i) opportunities for timely public comment
on NAFTA disputes that involve environmental
issues;
(ii) publication, as appropriate, of tran-
scripts of dispute panel hearings and delibera-
tions; and
(iii) a guarantee that final reports of dis-
pute panels shall be made public within 15 days
after it is transmitted to the Commission.
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(e) The Commission should develop, with strong pub-
lic participation and close consultation with nongovern-
mental organizations, community groups, local official and
business groups, a voluntary code of best environmental
practices for multinational corporations operating within
the NAFTA region, and a mechanism to certify and pub-
licize compliance by companies.
(f) The Commission should, with strong public par-
ticipation, consider long-term regional environmental is-
sues and develop proposals to continually improve the en-
vironment and public health in the NAFTA region, includ-
ing—
(1) developing a process to facilitate participa-
tion by NAFTA parties in future environmental and
conservation agreements that may rely on measures
which, on their face, would conflict with the parties’
obligations under NAFTA;
(2) developing environmental guidelines for ac-
cession to NAFTA by other countries;
(3) reviewing United States-Canada environ-
mental issues to determine whether existing agree-
ments 
are 
adequate 
to 
address 
issues 
of
transboundary environmental damage, threats to the
global commons or efforts to attract investment by
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relaxing domestic health, safety or environmental
measures;
(4) initiating negotiations among NAFTA par-
ties on possible future changes to NAFTA to ad-
dress environmental concerns not envisioned by the
current Agreement; and
(5) developing a program to support the work
and goals of the United Nations Commission on
Sustainable Development.
SEC. 4. SECRETARIAT.
(a)(1) The Commission shall establish and oversee a
Secretariat comprising national sections.
(2) Each party shall—
(A) establish a permanent office of its section;
(B) provide full-time staff in equal numbers to
enable the Commission to carry out its mandate;
(C) be responsible for the operation and costs
of its section, and the remuneration and payment of
expenses of panelists and members of committees
and scientific review boards established;
(D) designate an individual to serve as Sec-
retary for its section, who shall be responsible for its
administration, management, and coordination with
the NAFTA Free Trade Commission; and
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(E) notify the Commission of the location of its
section’s office.
(3) The Secretariat shall—
(A) provide assistance to the Commission;
(B) provide administrative assistance to dispute
resolution panels; and
(C) as the Commission may direct, support the
work of other committees and groups established
under the NAFTA and otherwise facilitate the oper-
ation of the NAFTA.
Æ
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