Changes to the General Law of Ecological Balance and Protection of the Environment
On April 23, 2018, the “Decree by means of which various provisions of the General Law on Ecological Equilibrium and Environmental Protection are amended and added” (hereafter the “Decree”) was published at the Official Gazette of the Federation and entered into force on April 24, 2018.
The Decree provides legal certainty for individuals duals or entities aiming at developing works or activities in “coastal ecosystems”, as it establishes a definition for such term and provides that any activity thereat requires obtaining a federal environmental impact authorization.
Formerly, the General Law on Ecological Equilibrium and Environmental Protection (Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente; “LGEEPA”) regulated in an express manner the environmental impact of real estate developments affecting “coastal ecosystems", without establishing a definition for such term and without explicitly regulating other projects to be developed thereat.
Pursuant to the Decree, “coastal ecosystems” encompass beaches, coastal dunes, cliffs, coastal boundaries; coastal wetlands such as interdune lagoons, coastal lagoons, estuaries, marshlands, swamps, mangroves, islets, oasis, cenotes, grasslands, palm groves and floodable rainforest; coral reefs; ecosystems formed by communities of macroalgae and sea grasses, seabed or benthos and rocky coastlines. These are featured for being located at a coastal zone with the possibility of being composed by marine, aquatic and/or land areas; covering a sea depth of less than 200 meters, up to 100 km inland or an elevation of up to 50 meters. The coastal zone, will be defined by Mexico’s Federal Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, along with the States and Municipalities, taking into account the biological and physiographical particularities of the corresponding area and will be published at the Official Gazette of the Federation through an agreement.
Mexico City, April 27, 2018