Summary Written by Brandon Vegter, Texas Center for Policy Studies
April 4, 2001
The Board of Directors of BECC recently held a public meeting on March 27, 2001 at the Phoenix Art Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. The meeting was highlighted by opening remarks from the Arizona Secretary of State, Betsey Bayless, followed by a video presentation of a wastewater project for the town of El Sasabe, Sonora, Mexico and a summary of the letters received in response to BECC's request for ideas on mandate expansion pilot projects.
Members of the Board attending the meeting were Arturo Herrera Solis (acting as Chairman); Robert Ortega, on behalf of the IBWC, Ignacio Garza, Isabel Struder, from SEMARNAT; Gregg Cooke, from the EPA, Linda Taylor; Humberto Valdez Richaud; and a representative of the Mexican Consul General of Phoenix. Raul Rodriguez, managing director of NADBANK, and Jorge Garces, future deputy director of NADBANK, were also present at the meeting.
Richard Tolbin, Deputy Director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, welcomed the participants. In his speech, Mr. Tolbin noted the importance of improving cooperation between the United States and Mexico and referred to the role of binational commissions such as the Arizona-Sonora Commission and the Border Environmental Cooperation Commission in improving international cooperation. Following these comments, Mr. Tolbin introduced Betsey Bailes, Arizona Secretary of State, who also spoke of the importance of collaboration between the two countries.
Following approval of the meeting's agenda, Fernando Macias introduced a wastewater collection system for the town of El Sasabe, Sonora, Mexico for certification. Currently, the town of El Sasabe does not have a sewer collection system. The proposed project will serve the town's 1,081 residents and is expected to cost $900,000 - covered by $450,000 in BEIF funds and $450,000 from the State of Sonora. The project was presented in video format, which was created by BECC staff in collaboration with the residents of El Sasabe. The video presentation was a nice departure from the staff's traditional slide presentation.
Following the video, Carlos Quinterron, project manager for Region 2 (including Arizona and Sonora) summarized the projects already certified and projects currently under development for Region 2. There are a total of 10 certified projects and 15 projects in development for Region 2 - Arizona has 5 certified projects and 5 projects in development, and Sonora has 5 certified projects and 10 projects in development. Following the presentation, several residents of El Sasabe spoke of the need for the wastewater collection system in their community, which will help solve health problems and improve community welfare in El Sasabe. The Board voted unanimously to certify the project.
Fernando Macias then gave the general manager's report on mandate expansion. In his report, Mr. Macias noted that BECC received about 46 responses from federal, state and local governments as well as academics, non-governmental organizations and private sector employers to BECC's call for potential pilot projects on the border. Of the 46 responses, the majority of project proposals related to the categories of solid waste, wastewater, and drinking water systems. However, some proposals also sought infrastructure improvements for border communities such as bridges, roads, and public transit. The Board expects to select several pilot projects for development at its next meeting in June in Washington, D.C.
Following the general manager's presentation, BECC staff introduced Barbara Bradley, who was hired to help prepare BECC's sustainable development work plan. The proposed work plan will identify 5 categories as well as a set of 25 minimum performance standards related to sustainable development. The criteria will be used during the planning and development processes to ensure project submittals meet BECC performance requirements. BECC has also developed a comprehensive set of indicators, which will be used to monitor project performance after projects receive Board approval.
Members of the BECC Advisory Council then presented the Advisory Council's report. Francisco Trevino and Leo Valdes noted that Advisory Council has been busy following the developments of the sustainable development workgroup. The Advisory Council also recently elected Lori Saldana of San Diego to be the next co-chair representing the United States.
Following the Advisory Council's report, the Board presented an award to John Bernal, celebrating his work as a former Board member on behalf of the IBWC. Mr. Bernal made a short speech stressing the importance of BECC, its independence in relation to other border organizations including the IBWC, and the need to address the infrastructure problems of smaller communities located along the border.
During the public comment period, the Mayor of the Municipality of Agua Prieta spoke of the town's problem with wastewater collection, dust and smoke. A representative of the Architects Association of Sonora spoke about its work in colonias located near the border. I spoke on behalf of the Texas Center of the need for clarifying the language used in the BECC's mandate expansion. I also presented ideas for three pilot projects related to water quality and sustainable forestry in Chihuahua. Copies of these comments are available on the Texas Center's Border Watch website.
Fernando Macias later responded to my comments by noting that the Board voted Friday night to change part of the text in Item 5 of the project criteria to prevent private projects, lacking public components, from receiving grant funds.