CONAGUA moves forward with online procedures system during COVID-19 quarantine

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government took several preventive measures that restricted both private and governmental activities. The most relevant of these measures, which were set out in the 24 and 30 March 2020 editions of the Federal Official Gazette, include a general suspension of non-essential activities and additional contingency preventive measures, such as social distancing.

In addition, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) published a decree by which all legal terms were suspended from 23 March 2020, whereas the Ministry of Health declared that all non-essential activities were suspended until at least 30 April 2020, including those of SEMARNAT and its departments and organs (ie, the National Waters Commission (CONAGUA)), and other governmental agencies.

Given the current situation and the suspension of activities, CONAGUA has been reconsidering its online procedures system, which was initially published in the Federal Official Gazette on 1 October 2018 but was not implemented until late 2019. CONAGUA's ultimate goal in this respect is the complete substitution of traditional in-person-initiated procedures with their digital counterparts.

The programme is called 'CONAGU@-Digital' and the online procedures system is known as 'Buzón del Agua' (ie, Water Mailbox). Entities which hold a CONAGUA-issued concession title or permit can access the Water Mailbox to initiate several procedures before CONAGUA (ie, requesting a new concession title or wastewater discharge permit or a concession modification). However, the relevant permit or concession must have been issued or modified through the new CONAGU@-Digital system in the past year or so.

Entities which hold concession titles that were issued before the implementation of the CONAGU@-Digital system must request the pairing of their tax ID with each concession title or permit that they hold before they can start an online procedure for that concession title or permit (ie, a renewal or administrative modification). The tax ID-concession title pairing should be requested directly before the competent CONAGUA office as soon as CONAGUA resumes its normal activities.