Mr. Ignacio (Nacho) Garza

Chairman, Board of Directors

Border Environment Cooperation Commission

March 9, 2000

Dear Mr. Garza,

As you know, the Texas Center for Policy Studies is a 501-C-3 organizations headquartered in Austin with significant interest in and participation in BECC issues and projects. We are concerned with some aspects of the two Mexican wastewater treatment plant projects -- Ciudad Acuña and Piedras Negras -- proposed for certification on March 24, 2000 and because of those concerns, we, along with several other environmental groups, seek a delay in certification of the projects. We recognize, however, the need and benefit of wastewater treatment plants for these two growing Mexican municipalities and do not want our comments to be construed as opposition to the projects themselves.

Our concern stems from the contract the governmental operators have signed with the CFE to provide treated wastewater for reuse at the two coal-burning electric power plants southeast of Piedras Negras, known as Carbon 1 and Carbon 2. For many years, the U.S. and Mexican governments have debated whether these two plants could be impacting air quality, public health and visibility in Big Bend National Park, as well as in outlying communities such as Marathon, Alpine and communities within Mexico. A preliminary study conducted in 1996 was largely inconclusive, pointing to possible impacts from both Carbon I and 2, as well as from coal and lignite-burning plants in East Texas. (Environmental groups in Texas have pressured legislators and the TNRCC to clean up the East Texas plants, many of whom are "grandfathered" and do not have adequate scrubbers and other air pollution controls. In 1999, a utility deregulation bill passed by the Texas Legislature will force 2 major plants to significantly reduce their pollutant emissions). A second study was conducted by the EPA, NPS and TNRCC this year, but because Mexico did not agree to participate there will be little if any information about the impact of pollutants coming from Mexico. We believe that while the reuse of wastewater is a laudable goal, the possibility exists that the availability of this wastewater for continued and increasing Carbon 1 and 2 energy production could lead to further air quality problems. In addition, because the wastewater will be taken out of the river downstream of Piedras Negras, there is concern that the total amount of water available for downstream users --including the cities of Laredo and Nuevo Laredo -- as well as aquatic habitat could be negatively impacted.

Moreover, the BECC process -- as well as EPA's Environmental Assessment -- did not adequately inform the wider public about the proposed contract with CFE. The summary documents available on the website and posted to the BECCNET mention that "Mexico's Comisión Federal de Electricidad, downstream, will reuse the effluent…. at a downstream location," but makes no specific mention of Carbon 1 and 2, the tariffs CFE may or may not be paying, nor the total volume of water that CFE is scheduled to utilize. This makes it extremely difficult for the wider public to judge whether the reuse is indeed a sustainable goal, or simply a subsidy of a power plant, possibly using EPA grants.

Because the project is scheduled to receive BEIF EPA grants through the North American Development Bank, EPA was required to review the Environmental Assessment. The summary of the two projects does state that the "EPA has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FoNSI)," and futher states -- at least in the Ciudad Acuña summary -- that the "EA and FONSI are currently undergoing a 30-day public review period, which will conclude on the first week of March 2000." In fact, according to both staff members of BECC and EPA Region VI, the comment period officially ended on Tuesday, February 29th, which could either be considered the first week of March or the last week of February. When I called EPA Region VI on Monday, March 6, 2000 to see if I could still comment on the FONSI, I was informed that it was too late and that the comment period had ended in February. In fact, because no comments were received during the 30-day period, the FONSI is automatically approved, although apparently the final ruling has not been issued. In addition, the public notice requirements for the public comment period are very arbitrary and in this case only those agencies directly involved (such as the TNRCC) were contacted, as well as those on a preexisting mailing list.

We feel that the BECC -- and EPA -- should have been more specific about the timing of the 30-day comment period so the wider public would have had more opportunity to comment on various aspects of the project. In the future, BECC may want to consider posting notices of EPA issuance of FONSIs on Environmental Assessments prepared as part of the BECC certification process.

For the reasons cited above -- possible downstream and air quality impacts due to wastewater reuse -- as well as the lack of specificity contained within BECC's summary projects and the lack of notice of the EPA's FONSI and public comment period, the undersigned organizations respectfully request that the BECC Board delay certification of both the Piedras Negras and Ciudad Acuña wastewater treatment plants. This would allow the public and public officials more time to consider the merits of the proposed wastewater reuse plan.

Please don't hesitate to call if you have any questions,

Cyrus Reed

Texas Center for Policy Studies

Austin, Texas

Ramón Alvarez

Environmental Defense

Austin, Texas

Fran Sage, Chair

Big Bend Regional Sierra Club

Alpine, Texas

cc. Javier Cabrera, BECC General Manager

Pete Silva, BECC Deputy General Manager

Temis Alvarez, Environmental Manager

Gregg Cooke, Region VI Administrator, EPA

Ralph Marquez, TNRCC Commissioner, TNRCC

Lynda Taylor, BECC Public Board Member