County continues to negotiate with DHS on levee-fence project
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June 25, 2008 - 11:19PM
By Laura B. Martinez, The Brownsville Herald
Cameron County is still in talks with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on the county's enhanced levee system project, despite a report that it had ceased negotiations with the county.



"They (DHS) have not shut the door (on the county)," Cameron County Judge Carlos H. Cascos said Wednesday. "What I believe is that their concern is that we may not able to meet our (Dec. 31) deadline."



Cascos wants to meet with DHS officials within the next two weeks to see if the county's proposal will work. "At that point, I want them to tell us why they don't believe it can work for us," Cascos said.



On June 13, U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison sent a letter to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff and requested that a DHS representative meet with Cameron County officials after the senators received word that DHS had ended talks on the county's levee project.



"We believe the levee/fence concept deserves thorough consideration," a portion of the letter stated. "The CBP agreement with neighboring Hidalgo County demonstrates that such an approach can enhance border security and meet the federal mandate for comprehensive flood protection."



Cornyn's office is arranging a meeting between county and DHS officials, a spokesman for his office said Wednesday.



Last month, Cascos sent letters to Cornyn and Hutchison to request they draft an amendment that would place a moratorium on the fence construction in the county.



In addition, he sought a 6- to 12-month extension on the Dec. 31 deadline by which the government hopes to have the fence completed.



DHS extended the construction deadline for Hidalgo County following that county's agreement to work with the federal government to construct a concrete levee and barrier that in some portions will serve as a border wall.



The agreement pushed back Hidalgo County's levee project's expected completion to March 2009 from December of this year. Under the agreement, the DHS will give Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 $65.7 million to construct the concrete barrier. The drainage district will have to fund the remaining cost, which is approximately $48.2 million.



If Cameron County officials are able to meet with CBP authorities and develop a proposal suitable to DHS, Cascos hopes Cameron County will be given the same extension as provided to Hidalgo County.



Unlike other counties along the Texas border, Cameron County Commissioners declined to join a federal lawsuit in opposition to the border fence that was filed against DHS. The county agreed Tuesday to sell approximately six acres of county land to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers for $85,000.



Several land owners whose property could or will be impacted by the border fence pleaded with Commissioners Court to join a lawsuit filed by property owner Eloisa Tamez and the Texas Border Coalition against the DHS in protest of the fence.





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