Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, July 11, 2026 – Puerto Vallarta has not yet proved to Jalisco inspectors that El Gavilán meets environmental requirements, leaving the municipal landfill under the partial closure imposed June 5 and exposing the city government to fines or a broader shutdown.
Iker Frangie Martínez Gallardo, head of the Jalisco State Environmental Protection Agency, said the municipality must first notify the agency in writing that it has corrected the cited problems. Inspectors would then return to El Gavilán and verify the work on site before any closure seals are removed.
The July 10 enforcement status did not identify the remaining corrections, a compliance deadline, or the date Puerto Vallarta submitted its pending authorization request. It confirmed that a regularization process is underway at the Jalisco Secretariat of Environment and Territorial Development, but the municipality has not yet documented compliance with NOM-083.
The measure does not currently stop garbage collection across the city. When PROEPA placed the seals, municipal officials said collection trucks were still unloading in an adjacent section because only part of the property was closed. The state has not announced a change to that arrangement. PVDN reported at the time that the city was relying on a limited operating area while the burned section cooled.
The unresolved case follows a compressed series of changes at El Gavilán. The landfill’s operating authorization expired in early December 2025, state environmental officials said. Puerto Vallarta then assumed direct control of collection and final disposal on April 1 after Red Ambiental ended its municipal operation.
A large fire broke out less than two months later in the tire storage area and spread into an upper disposal cell. Smoke reached communities around El Colorado, prompting an atmospheric alert and class suspensions in affected zones. PROEPA imposed the partial closure through inspection record DOA/272/N/2026, folio A0024, after finding that the landfill lacked a current operating authorization.
The timeline means the municipality took over a landfill whose permit had already expired, then encountered a major fire before it could demonstrate that the site met state and federal requirements.
NOM-083 reaches well beyond permit paperwork. The federal standard covers waste compaction and daily cover, impermeable barriers, leachate collection, biogas control, storm drainage, an emergency disposal area, operating manuals and environmental monitoring. PROEPA’s latest statement did not say which of those technical requirements remain unresolved at El Gavilán.
Environmental concerns also continued after the fire. PVDN reported June 20 that leachate runoff had been reported in an area said to lack a protective membrane. The state’s July update did not say whether that condition is included in the current enforcement file or whether testing found any groundwater impact.
Jalisco law gives the warning about fines and closure a defined legal framework. Article 144 of the state environmental law allows temporary partial or total closure when an imminent ecological risk, serious natural-resource damage or pollution dangerous to ecosystems or public health exists.
The same law allows fines ranging from 30 to 35,000 times the daily Unit of Measurement and Update. Using the 2026 daily UMA of 117.31 pesos, the base range is roughly 3,519 pesos to 4.1 million pesos. The exact amount would depend on the violations established in the final administrative decision. Additional fines may be imposed when ordered corrections remain incomplete after a deadline.
A definitive partial or total closure can also be ordered when corrective measures are not completed under the conditions imposed, or after repeat violations that damage the environment or public health. Frangie described complete closure as an extreme step because Puerto Vallarta’s waste would continue to be generated and would need another authorized destination.
A full shutdown would bar trucks from using El Gavilán and require the municipality to redirect daily loads elsewhere. The state update did not identify a backup disposal site, and no interruption to normal household collection was announced.
