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Commission for Environmental Cooperation. North American Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTR). Toxics Release Inventory Conference February 12-13, 2008 Orlando Cabrera Rivera, Program Manager - Air Quality/PRTR. Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC).
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Commission for Environmental Cooperation North American Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTR) Toxics Release Inventory Conference February 12-13, 2008 Orlando Cabrera Rivera, Program Manager - Air Quality/PRTR
Commission for Environmental Cooperation(CEC) • International organization created by Canada, Mexico and the United States under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). • Its mandate is to address regional environmental concerns, help prevent potential trade and environmental conflicts, and promote the effective enforcement of environmental laws.
CEC’s North American PRTR Project:Objectives • To improve our understanding of the sources and management of chemicals of common concern in North America • To increase the utility of PRTR data in trilateral efforts to protect shared ecosystems, improve chemicals management and reduce pollution • To promote public access to information
CEC’s North American PRTR Project:Activities • Provide information (Taking Stock report and website) • Promote comparability and quality of PRTR data in North America, and provide support for Mexico’s RETC (regular meetings with Officials of the three countries) • Ask for stakeholder input via the annual meeting of the North American PRTR Consultative Group (general public, NGOs, industry, governments, media) • Promote international linkages (e.g., OECD)
Action Plan to Enhance the Comparability of PRTRs in North America • Adopted by Council in 2002 and updated in 2005 • Developed through collaboration among the national programs: • Canada’s National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) • U.S. Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) • Mexico’s Registro de Emisiones y Transferencia de Contaminantes (RETC) • Available on our website: www.cec.org
CEC’sTaking Stock Report & Website • Releases & transfers across North America (common elements from TRI, NPRI, and RETC) • Analyses by chemical, industry, jurisdiction • Trends over time, Special Feature Chapter • Raise awareness of key health & environmental issues • Enable increased dialogue and collaboration across borders & with industry
Reported amounts for 2004 (matched Canada-US data): approximately 3 million tonnes
North American PRTRs2004 Reporting Year Note: Canada and Mexico also have substantial facility-based reporting of greenhouse gases and criteria air pollutants(amounts not included here)
What does this tool allow and why is it important? • Find PRTR facilities in places of interest, with special relevance to border regions • Seamless access to industrial pollutant data in separate national databases • Expands the utility of existing services • Opportunity for improving data quality
Future PRTR Project Priorities • Ongoing capacity-building to support the full implementation of the RETC in Mexico • Promoting increasing comparability of PRTR data across North America (focus on data quality) • Promoting mentoring partnerships between U.S., Canadian and Mexican industries • Publication of the Taking Stock report and enhancement of TS Online • Ongoing engagement of the North American PRTR Consultative Group
CEC’s North American PRTR Project Contact: Orlando Cabrera Rivera Program Manager Air Quality/PRTR Telephone: (514) 350-4300 Fax: (514) 350-4314 Email: ocabrera@cec.org www.cec.org/takingstock