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New Mexico-Texas-Chihuahua Regional Workgroup
Project
New Mexico-Texas-Chihuahua Water
Data gathered from the Clean Rivers Project, an assessment of the transnational Rio Grande River’s water quality, will assist in setting baseline data to measure water quality improvements under Goal 1 of the Border 2012 Program. The Clean Rivers Project was completed in 2003 and studied three segments of the river in the Tri-State region; the data showed that at least one of the water quality standards was not being met in each of the three regions. Currently, EPA Region 6 is coordinating efforts with universities to determine if ongoing research can be used to fill in the water quality gaps of the Rio Grande.
Funding for this project goes toward providing basic health and water safety education to 200 families in Ciudad Juarez by teaching them about safe hygiene practices and proper methods for purifying drinking water.
New Mexico-Texas-Chihuahua Air
As a result of designating El Paso a “non-attainment area” for National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in the 1980s and early 1990s, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality worked with the New Mexico Environment Department, SEMARNAT, and the local communities of El Paso, Doña Ana County, and Ciudad Juárez to reduce emissions in this portion of the Texas border region. Since 1997, air monitoring data has shown the El Paso area to be in compliance with the federal 8-hour ozone standard of 85 ppb. In addition, no violations of the carbon monoxide standard have been recorded since 2001. In 2004 and 2005, El Paso became one of the first Texas cities to meet the NAAQS standards for 8-hour ozone and carbon monoxide. The success of El Paso’s cleanup campaign is attributed to a number of programs. These include: emissions testing through tailpipe inspections that have been in place since 1987; Stage II Vapor Recovery Systems at all U.S. commercial pumps; the use of oxygenated fuel during winter months both on the U.S. and Mexico side; the use of pollution prevention measures during construction; and a ban on open burning unless permitted.
The Biodiesel Project from Waste Vegetable Oil aims to produce a pilot biodiesel fuel from waste vegetable oil, and is to be led by the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Tribe in El Paso, Texas. Furthermore, proposals that received funding in the fiscal year of 2004-2005 hope to reduce air pollution by observing a reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions, promote environmental stewardship by integrating waste grease producers as bio-fuel marketers, identify waste grease generators, report total waste grease generated in the Paso del Norte region and use biodiesel in a donated vehicle to promote biodiesel usage.
New Mexico-Texas-Chihuahua Land
EPA is working with Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC), the municipality of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico and GCC Cemento, S.A. de C.V., Samlayuca (the local cement plant) to remove approximately 620,000 scrap tires from the Juárez pile. Every month about 30,000 tires go into the pile and approximately 60,000 are removed and sent to the cement plant as tire derived fuel (TDF). The federal government of Mexico, the state of Chihuahua, the municipality of Ciudad Juárez and the U.S. EPA have provided $160,000 in support of this project, with the EPA providing $67,000 in Border 2012 grant funds. This project will help showcase the advantages of using scrap tires for energy generation in the U.S.–Mexico border region.
Plans developed at the University of Texas, Austin propose to create an action plan to prevent pollution and improve institutional capacity for waste management of used oil in the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez area.
New Mexico-Texas-Chihuahua Health
In 2004, EPA allocated funds to develop what will be the first binational tracking network of environmentally related diseases in the U.S.-Mexican border region. A committee with participants from Ciudad Juárez and the New Mexico Department of Health has been developing health survey instruments and bilingual consent forms. The committee is also developing a training plan in Juárez and in Sunland Park, New Mexico for promotoras, people who serve as promoters of good health and hygiene. To refine the survey instruments, ten promotoras in Juárez performed beta testing on 175 houses and have filed 45 reports to date. A preliminary website has been established and is being used by project participants on an intranet basis.
This project provided education on the use and effects of pesticides on 209 farm worker families from Dana Ana, Hidalgo and Luna counties in New Mexico. Outreach materials were developed and 12 promotoras were selected and trained to deliver the education. The project also developed a pre-test and post-test that generated data on how much the target audience knew prior to the education experience, and how much new information was transferred and retained. The post-test was administered in visits to 55 randomly selected homes three to four weeks after the first visit. Program administrators concluded that useful information had indeed been transferred and retained. The Border Environmental Health Coalition received an EPA Grant to fund this project.
New Mexico-Texas-Chihuahua Emergency Prepardness and Response
The Response and Prevention Branch of EPA Region 6 helped to establish sister city plans in the region, which were signed by the cities of Columbus, New Mexico-Palomas, and Chihuahua in November 2002 and Presidio, Texas-Ojinaga, and Chihuahua in February 2004. EPA Region 6 continues to work with the cities of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez on their pending sister city agreement that will greatly help coordinate emergency response activities of this region. [status?]
EPA Region 6 sponsored training in the El Paso, Texas- Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua area, and coordinated with local task forces to provide a much-needed course on Hospital Mass Casualty Decontamination. Five major hospitals and two clinics were trained in August 2004. The training also involved the Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs).
New Mexico-Texas-Chihuahua Environmental Stewardship
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