Dear Clients and Friends:
On September 11, 2026, the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) published the Agreement through which the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) announced the environmental impact procedures enabled through the Environmental Electronic Window (Ventanilla Electrónica Ambiental or VEA), for their electronic filing, receipt, registration, processing, and resolution.
This measure brings several key environmental permitting procedures into a fully digital environment, including the Preventive Report, Environmental Impact Statements (Manifestaciones de Impacto Ambiental or MIAs) in both their specific and regional modalities, as well as other procedures related to federal environmental authorizations. As a result, project developers subject to federal environmental impact assessment requirements will be required to submit and manage these procedures through the VEA platform.
This development is particularly relevant for companies operating in the automotive, mining, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and industrial development sectors, whose projects often require federal environmental approvals for construction, modification, or operation.
Implications for Businesses
The mandatory implementation of the VEA requires companies to promptly review their environmental compliance and regulatory management processes. Among other considerations, businesses should verify the validity of their electronic registrations and platform access credentials, ensure that all required documentation is available in digital format, and adapt internal procedures to comply with the platform’s technological requirements.
Likewise, organizations with projects currently in the planning, development, or execution stages should incorporate this transition into their regulatory timelines to avoid delays in permit applications, responses to regulatory inquiries, or the obtaining of environmental authorizations.
The proper preparation of electronic filings and the effective management of information submitted to the authorities will be critical factors in ensuring the continuity of projects subject to federal environmental impact assessment requirements.
EC Rubio’s Perspective
The digitalization of environmental procedures forms part of a broader regulatory trend aimed at simplifying interactions between businesses and government authorities through the use of technological tools. However, the transition to fully electronic processes also presents new operational and compliance challenges that should be identified and addressed proactively.
In this context, companies with projects subject to environmental impact assessment requirements should begin reviewing their internal procedures, document management systems, and compliance strategies to ensure a smooth transition to this new filing framework.
Legal Basis: Article 32 Bis of the Organic Law of the Federal Public Administration; the National Law to Eliminate Bureaucratic Procedures; the Federal Administrative Procedure Law; and Strategy T2.1.2 of the 2025-2030 National Development Plan.
Access the official publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF):
https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5798664&fecha=11/09/2026
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
