 The Federal Law of Metrology and Standardization (Ley Federal sobre Metrología y Normalizacion - LFMN) establishes the National Standardization Program (Programa Nacional de Normalizacion - PNN), which is a valuable tool that includes those topics that will be developed as Official Mexican Standards, Mexican Standards and Reference Standards.
According to the Law of Metrology and Standardization, the Program is considered a coordination and information instrument of the standardization activities of both public and private entities, performed in our country. One of its main functions is to inform about the activities carried out by the standardization dependencies, through their national consultation committees, national standardization organisms, technical committees and reference committees in charge of the public federal administration. However, we consider important to say that the Federal Law of Metrology and Standardization does not bring the sufficient legal certainty, since it has turned into a reactive mechanism without taking into consideration the processes related to sustainable development that must be focused on a systemic, integral and transversal vision. We hope that this new administration solve this problem with the objective of making sure where to address our efforts and actions in the process of standardization, regarding the topics that involve environmental issues.
In spite of all of the above, the Program is a good effort that brings the opportunity to review the topics that have become obsolete for covering the needs of the population, as well as certain factors such as the advance of new technologies, the globalization and the accelerate environment where we live, that are making that many standards result useless. Likewise, the Program includes those topics that need to be cancelled and those new that require certain criteria and specifications, with the purpose that both individuals and legal entities count on technical instruments at the moment of developing their activities and operations. It is worth mentioning, that the Program must establish the approximate times spent for the beginning and termination of the standards, in order to bring certainty.
 The main objective of this document is the description of the new and rescheduled topics in environmental matter, that are now evaluated by the different sub committees that belong to the National Consultation Committee of Standardization of Environment and Natural Resources of the SEMARNAT for the year 2007, and that will be developed as Official Mexican Standards.
We have considered the importance of elaborating this document, since we believe that it will result interesting for those who will be affected with the publication of the Standards that result applicable. The objective is that citizens may be able to act in accordance to the Official Mexican Standards applicable to their activities and operations, as well as to know about the cancellations, modifications and updates. We all know that the common goal is the protection of the environment and the human health.
This Program has been already approved; however it has not been published yet.
CONTENT OF THE NATIONAL STANDARDIZATION PROGRAM 2007 REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL TOPICS THAT WILL BE DEVELOPED AS OFFICIAL MEXICAN STANDARDS
SUB COMMITTEE I: NATURAL RENEWABLE RESOURCES AND ACTIVITIES OF THE PRIMARY SECTOR
New Topics:
1. Draft for the modification of the Official Mexican Standard NOM-016- SEMARNAT-2003 that regulates the import of new serrated wood.
Objectives:
- Establish the sanitary requisites for the new serrated wood, in all its forms and presentations for its importation. It is mandatory for those who import this type of wood.
Rescheduled topics:
2. Official Mexican Standard that establishes the technical guidelines for national mobilization, environmental liberation, pilot and commercial program for genetically Modified Forest Organisms through biotechnology.
Objectives:
- Establish the technical guidelines for the
 mobilization and liberation to the environment of Genetically Modified Forest Organisms.
- Establish the technical specifications for the liberation to the environment of Genetically Modified Forest Organisms.
- Establish the technical guidelines for the elaboration of the risk analysis in the manipulation, mobilization and liberation to the environment of the Genetically Modified Forest Organisms.
3. Modification to the Official Mexican Standard NOM-019-SEMARNAT-1999, that establishes the technical guidelines for controlling and fighting against insects that decorticate conifers.
Objectives:
- Update the technical specifications of the fitosanitary treatments for diagnosis, control and fight against insects that decorticate conifers.
- Establish sanitary specifications for controlling and fighting against insects that eat leaves, which are one of the main factors that cause damage to conifers in our country.
4. Draft of the Official Mexican Standard NOM-152-SEMARNAT-2006 that establishes the criteria and specifications of the contents of management programs for using forest wood resources.
Objectives:
 Establish specifications that allow covering the points established in the content of the wood management program, stated in the General Law of Sustainable. Forest Development and its regulations.
- Establish the sufficient levels for complying with the dispositions of the General Law of Sustainable Forest Development and its regulations, bringing more certainty to individuals in the elaboration of management programs, reducing costs.
5. Modification to the Official Mexican Standard NOM-015- SEMARNAT/SAGARPA-1997 that regulates the use of fire in forestry and agricultural lands, and establishes the specifications, criteria and procedures for organizing social and government participation in the fight against forest fires.
Objectives:
- Establish the requisites and procedures for the use of fire in forestry lands, in lands adjacent to forestry lands, as well as agricultural and stockbreeding lands.
6. Official Mexican Standard that regulates the methods and procedures for evaluating the damages caused by forest fires, restores the affected areas and establishes the following up procedures.
Objectives:
- Establish the methods and forms for evaluating direct or indirect damages caused by forest fires.
- Establish the methods and forms for repairing the areas affected by a forest fires.
- Establish the following up procedures regarding the compensation measures in
lands affected by forest fires.
7. Modification to the Official Mexican Standard NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2001, Environmental Protection - Mexican animals and plants- Risk categories and specifications for their inclusion, exclusion or change- List of species in danger.
Objectives:
- Update and modify the attachment II of the Standard, which contains the species of animals and plants that are in danger.
- Review the method of risk evaluation, which contains the criteria of exclusion, inclusion or change in the risk category for species or populations.
8. Modification to the Official Mexican Standard NOM-022-SEMARNAT-2003 which establishes the specifications for preservation, conservation, sustainable use and restoration of mangrove areas.
Objective:
- Update the specifications that regulate the sustainable use in mangrove areas, in order to prevent their damage, encouraging their conservation and preservation.
SUB COMMITTEE II: ENERGY AND MINING ACTIVITIES
New Topics:
9. Requisites of environmental protection for the construction and operation of lixiviation systems in minerals.
Objectives:
- Establish the requisites of environmental protection for the construction and operation systems of lixiviation in minerals.
Rescheduled Topics:
10. Modification of the Official Mexican Standard NOM-075-SEMARNAT-1995 that establishes the maximum allowable limits for air emissions of volatile organic compounds coming from the process of the separators water-oil in oil refineries.
Objective:
- Regulate the air emissions of oil refineries, specially the volatile organic and sulfur compounds.
11. Modification to the Official Mexican Standard NOM-085-SEMARNAT-1994, Atmospheric pollution for fixed sources using solid or gaseous fossil fuels or any combination thereof, establishing the maximum allowable levels of atmospheric emissions of smoke, total suspended particles, sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxides, and the requirements and conditions for the operation of indirect combustion heating equipment, as well as the maximum allowable levels of emissions of sulfur dioxide in direct combustion heating equipment.
Objectives:
- Update the maximum allowable limits of the air emissions for new combustion equipment.
- Provide technical specifications regarding analytical methods and measurement intervals, including the conformance assessment procedure.
- Search new levels to further the sustainable development of the energy sector and national industry in general, taking account of new technologies.
12. Modification to the Official Mexican Standard NOM-117-SEMARNAT-2003 establishing environmental protection specifications for the installation and major maintenance of transport and distribution systems for hydrocarbons and petrochemicals in liquid and gaseous state, undertaken on existing land rights of way located in agricultural, stockbreeding and untilled zones.
Objective:
- Establish the specifications for environmental protection during the activities of installation and maintenance of conduction and distribution systems for hydrocarbons and petrochemicals in liquid and gaseous state.
13. Modification to the Official Mexican Standard NOM-138-SEMARNAT/SS-2003 that establishes the maximum allowable limits for hydrocarbons in soil and their specifications for their characterization and remediation.
Objective:
- Update the content of the standard, according to the new regulatory instruments.
- Refer to the analytic methods established in the Mexican Standards published after the NOM-138.
14. Official Mexican Standard NOM-151-SEMARNAT-2006 that establishes the technical specifications for environmental protection during construction, operation and abandonment of electric installations in agricultural, stockbreeding and untilled zones.
Objective:
- Establish the technical specifications of environmental protection that must be observed during the construction, operation and abandonment of electric installations in agricultural, stockbreeding and untilled zones.
15. Official Mexican Standard that establishes the environmental specifications for perforation injections in receptor formations.
Objectives:
- Establish the specifications in environmental matter that must be observed by those who make perforation injections in receptor formations. These are: Geological characteristics, technical characteristics of injection wells and environmental conditions that must be followed by those who are involved in the process of injection and its related activities.
16. Official Mexican Standard that establishes the elements and procedures for implementing management plans in mining wastes.
Objective:
- According to the General Law for the Prevention and Integral Management of Wastes, this Standard establishes the elements and procedures that must be considered at the moment of implementing management plans of wastes that come from mining and treatment materials.
|
Top 100 Maquilas
