Federal Court Voids Consultation for Playa del Carmen Wastewater Plant

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — A federal appeals court has struck down the environmental review process for a wastewater reception and treatment plant that the company San Mex plans to build in the Nicte Ha neighborhood of Playa del Carmen.

The First Circuit Collegiate Tribunal issued the ruling in case file 597/2025, voiding the Environmental Impact Assessment carried out for the project. The decision orders Quintana Roo’s Environment Secretariat (Sema) to restart the process and guarantee an effective public consultation, after environmental groups raised objections about how the original proceedings were publicized.

Aarón Hernández Siller, southeast regional director of the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA), said the consultation published by Sema was not widely circulated among Playa del Carmen residents, which limited public participation.

Hernández said the environmental impact statement his organization reviewed was deficient and left out details on how wastewater would be treated, even though the project involves discharges into federally regulated waters, including the region’s aquifer.

According to CEMDA, San Mex has been cited in previous years for discharging wastewater into Playa del Carmen’s public drainage system. Hernández argued the project should have been assessed under federal jurisdiction rather than by state authorities alone.

CEMDA has asked Sema for a new ruling following the annulment and said it will monitor the case to make sure the agency does not accept a consultation the group considers inadequate.