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What is Border 2012
What is Border 2012? Quick Finder |
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Background
On this page:
- La Paz Agreement
- Framework Development
- Public Comment
- Border 2012 Mission
- 10 Guiding Principals
- Interagency Cooperation
- Funding Sources
- National Coordinators
La Paz Agreement
The 1983 Agreement on Cooperation for the Protection and Improvement of the Environment in the Border Area (La Paz Agreement (PDF) (16pp, 94K)) was signed in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, and is the legal basis for the Border 2012 program. It empowers the federal environmental authorities in the United States and Mexico to undertake cooperative initiatives and is implemented through multi-year binational programs. EPA and SEMARNAT serve as National Coordinators for these programs.
The La Paz Agreement defines the U.S.-Mexico border region as extending more than 3,100 kilometers (approximately 2,000 miles) from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean, and 100 kilometers (approximately 62.5 miles) on either side of the border. The border region has a variety of climates, ranging from Mediterranean conditions in the San Diego-Tijuana area to desert lands in Arizona-Sonora, New Mexico-Chihuahua, and Texas. This climatic variety supports a remarkable biological diversity. Stark natural beauty and unique history can be appreciated within the region's many national parks and protected areas. The binational border region also contains multiple jurisdictions including ten states, local governments, and U.S. Tribes, and a complex legal framework.
Framework Development
With the active participation of the ten U.S. an Mexican border states and U.S. tribal governments, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Mexico's Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Mexican Secretariat of Health (SS) and other federal agencies, have developed the Border 2012 program to protect the environment and the public's health in the U.S.-Mexico border region.
The proposed Border 2012 Program was announced in September 2002 in Mexico at the meeting of the environmental authorities of the ten U.S. and Mexican border states, and in the U.S. Federal Register. These announcements launched a 60-day comment period, during which EPA, SEMARNAT, the ten U.S. and Mexican border states, and U.S. tribes engaged in an intensive public involvement process that included a combination of binational and domestic meetings in 27 cities along the U.S.- Mexico border. EPA and SEMARNAT also solicited input from many interested community and stakeholder groups via additional meetings, internet exchanges, and written correspondence.
During the public comment period, more than 1,000 individual comments were received from various public and private stakeholders. Based on these comments, the draft Border 2012 framework was revised to incorporate many of the recommendations and priority issues that were conveyed by border stakeholders in an effort to more effectively address environmental problems facing border communities. The Border 2012 Response Summary Report (PDF) (60 pp, 700K) About PDF provides a detailed account of the comments received and how they were incorporated into the final document. In addition, program partners developed the Border 2012 Operational Guidance (PDF) (5 pp, 22K) About PDF to assist partners, stakeholders and the general public to understand how the program is implemented.
10 Guiding Principals
- Reduce the highest public health risks, and preserve and restore the natural environment.
- Adopt a bottom-up approach for setting priorities and making decisions through partnerships with state, local and U.S. tribal governments.
- Address disproportionate environmental impacts in border communities.
- Improve stakeholder participation and ensure broad-based representation from the environmental, public health, and other relevant sectors.
- Foster transparency, public participation, and open dialogue through provision of accessible, accurate, and timely information.
- Strengthen capacity of local community residents and other stakeholders to manage environmental and environmentally-related public health issues.
- Achieve concrete, measurable results while maintaining a long-term vision.
- Measure program progress through development of environmental and public health-based indicators.
- The United States recognizes that U.S. tribes are separate sovereign governments, and that equity issues impacting tribal governments must be addressed in the United States on a government-to-government basis.
- Mexico recognizes the historical debt it has with its indigenous peoples. Therefore, appropriate measures will be considered to address their specific concerns, as well as to protect and preserve their cultural integrity within the broader environmental purposes of this program.
Border 2012 Mission
To protect the environment and public health in the U.S.-Mexico border region, consistent with the principles of sustainable development.
In this program, sustainable development is defined as "conservation-oriented social and economic development that emphasizes the protection and sustainable use of resources, while addressing both current and future needs and present and future impacts of human actions."
Public Comment
Border 2012 Framework Development Sept. 2002 - Nov. 2002:
There were many consistent themes received in the regional comments, such as the need to have clean water and air in border communities. There also were some uniquely regional concerns such as water deficiencies in the Colorado River Delta. A matrix summarizing these regional issues can be found in the Border 2012 Response Summary Report, along with responses to region-specific comments. The highlights of the environmental concerns identified by the public in each region are summarized below.
California-Baja California: Air quality, water supply and sanitation, hazardous waste management, and cross-border emergency response capability were among the issues identified in this region. Specifically, the public voiced air quality concerns regarding the proposed power plants in Mexicali, soil particles in the air from the Salton Sea, vehicle emissions and brick-kiln burnings in Tecate, as well as trash burning in many cities. Water quality issues raised by the public included the Salton Sea, and the Colorado River Basin, and often were related to new power plants, untreated sewage, and the presence of oil in water and drains.
Arizona-Sonora: Air quality problems stemming from dusty roads, vehicle emissions, wood burning, and border enforcement tire dragging were mentioned in this region. The water issues of concern to this region included lack of reservoirs, lack of wastewater treatment infrastructure, and water contamination from smelters. Land pollution problems mostly were associated with used tires and inadequate waste disposal.
New Mexico-Texas-Chihuahua: Residents pointed to the need for regionwide plans for air basins and watersheds, such as the Paso del Norte Air Basin, or in the Big Bend/Maderas del Carmen/Cañón de Santa Elena area. Other air quality problems focused on toxic gases, and dust from trucks in the Marfa/Presidio area. Water quality and quantity is of concern in the Ciudad Juárez-El Paso area, mostly due to the steady overdraft of the Hueco Bolson aquifer, and waste pollution in the Conchos and Rio Grande basins.
Texas-Coahuila-Nuevo Leon-Tamaulipas: Issues of concern in this region included water supply, hazardous waste and hazardous materials management. Also, many comments were received which were related to the need for development of water and wastewater treatment infrastructure, as well as reduction of contamination by auto shops and from sugar cane burning.
The full text of the Border 2012 Response Summary Report is available here (PDF). (60 pp, 2.20MB)
Interagency Cooperation
Although Border 2012 is administered primarily by EPA, SEMARNAT, HHS, SS (link to acronyms page), the ten border states (outside EPA link to 10 border states alliance), and U.S. tribes, all program activities are selected and implemented by coordinating bodies with full consideration of relevant activities implemented by other institutions and the advice provided by the Good Neighbor Environmental Board (GNEB), SEMARNAT's Advisory Council for Sustainable Development (CCDS) and other organizations. These organizations represent a broad spectrum of programs and perspectives from governmental, non-governmental, academic, and private sectors. Representatives of these organizations participate actively in the work of Border 2012 coordinating bodies, and they provide valuable context for Border 2012 activities.
Funding Sources
Achievement of Border 2012's goals depends on continued availability and efficient utilization of funding; the program updates funding estimates frequently in order to gauge progress and meet program objectives.
Funding from EPA and SEMARNAT is an important component of the overall budget for border activities. Federal funding is allocated on an annual basis based on requests to the legislatures of each country and is subject to executive approval. For more information on the United States House of Representatives Interior & Environment Appropriations Sub Committee and the Environment and Public Works Senate Sub Committee 
. In addition to these federal sources, strategic investments from state and local governments and from the private sector are required as are bilateral and multilateral financing and lending from the NADB and the World Bank. All of these organizations offer a variety of grant and program funding and lending sources, and all offer opportunities for financial support for Border 2012 activities.
National Coordinators
National Coordinators from the United States EPA and Mexico's SEMERNAT manage overall program implementation, and ensure cooperation, coordination and communication among the various Border 2012 branches. Although each branch is autonomous, the National Coordinators ensure overall progress toward program goals. They assist the workgroups in maintaining focus on binational and transboundary environmental and public health issues consistent with the program's Ten Guiding Principles. National Coordinators also ensure consideration of important cross-cutting issues that are not addressed by any formal coordinating body.
National Coordinators provide guidance and oversight for the four branches of Border 2012: Regional Workgroups, Border-wide Workgroups and Policy Fora, and for their respective Task Forces.