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NEW U.S. - MEXICO BORDER ENVIRONMENTAL PLAN NOW AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

Release Date: 09/23/2002
Contact Information:






Environmental News

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Mexico’s Secretariat for Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) on Sept. 20 joined the 10 U.S.-Mexico border states and U.S. tribes in proposing a new 10-year program designed to protect public health and the environment along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border. Public comments on this draft program will be accepted between Sept. 23, 2002, and Nov. 22, 2002, and the final plan will be completed by early 2003.

The proposed Border 2012 program will focus on decreasing pollution and lowering the risks of exposure to pesticides and other chemicals, and it aims to achieve measurable improvements in air, water and soil quality in the border region by 2012. During the past 20 years, the population of the border region has grown to 11.8 million people, and it is expected to reach 19.4 million by 2020. This trend underscores the need to take concrete actions to protect public health and the environment in the border region.

The Border 2012 program was developed in cooperation with other federal agencies in both governments, the 10 U.S.- Mexico border states, and 25 U.S. tribal partners. It proposes a bottom-up approach with active participation of local communities, state and local governmental agencies, and U.S. tribes. Building upon past binational programs and comments from numerous stakeholders, Border 2012 will focus on achieving concrete, measurable results, and emphasizes public participation, transparency, and timely access to information.

The focus of Border 2012 is to address environmental issues at the local level by decentralizing the decision-making and priority-setting processes, with implementation driven by four Regional Workgroups, three Border-wide Workgroups and three Policy Forums.

The four Regional Workgroups (California-Baja California; Arizona-Sonora; New Mexico-Texas-Chihuahua; and Texas-Coahuila-Nuevo Leon-Tamaulipas) will deal in a multi-disciplinary manner with specific environmental issues affecting specific sub-regions. Three Border-wide Workgroups will address binational and transboundary aspects of environmental health, emergency preparedness and response, and cooperative enforcement and compliance. Three Policy Forums will focus on broad issues concerning air and water quality, and the effective management of hazardous and solid waste and toxic substances. Task Forces will be created to implement projects at the local level consistent with the needs of the region and the goals of the program.

The draft Border 2012 plan is available in English and Spanish on the EPA and SEMARNAT websites: https://www.epa.gov/usmexicoborder and http://www.semarnat.gob.mx/frontera2012

Requests for hard copies of the plan also may be made to the following EPA and SEMARNAT offices:

• EPA El Paso Border Office, 4050 Rio Bravo, Suite 100, El Paso, TX 79902Telephone: (915) 533-7273 or 1-800-334-0741; Fax (915) 533-2327

• EPA San Diego Border Office, 610 West Ash Street, Suite 905, San Diego, CA 92101 Telephone: (619) 235-4765 or 1-800-334-0741; Fax (619) 235-4771

• SEMARNAT, Unidad Coordinadora de Asuntos Internacionales, Av. San Jeronimo 458, Col. Jardines del Pedregal, A.Obregon C.P. 019000, D.F. Telephone: (52-55) 5490-2194

EPA, SEMARNAT and the 10 U.S. - Mexico border states will jointly conduct a series of public meetings in U.S. and Mexican border communities during the 60-day comment period. A detailed meeting schedule will be available on the websites and from the offices listed above. These meetings will provide those interested with an opportunity to learn about the Border 2012 program, to ask questions and to submit formal written comments. In addition, written comments may be submitted to the EPA and SEMARNAT offices listed above, or electronically through the EPA or SEMARNAT websites.


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