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15 March 2006

U.S.-Mexican Border Air Quality of "Great Concern"
Report suggests new funding and technology to address problems



Washington – Reducing vehicle emissions through new technology and improving border station infrastructure are two suggestions for addressing air pollution on the U.S.-Mexican border made in a report issued by an independent federal advisory committee.

The Good Neighbor Environmental Board has presented the report to President Bush, according to a March 14 announcement from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The report addresses two major issues: air quality and transportation, and the protection of cultural and natural resources.

“Air quality along the 1,952-mile [3,141-kilometer] international border that separates the United States and Mexico is of great concern due to its effect on public health,” the report says in its introduction.

“Border-region air pollutants originate from a variety of sources,” it continues, “including open-air burning [trash, residential heating and brick kilns], unpaved roads, windblown dust, power plants, area sources such as dry cleaners, industrial facilities and transportation activities.”

FOCUS ON TRANSPORTATION ISSUES

The report confined its recommendations for improvement to transportation issues.

At border stations, it suggested stronger infrastructure, technology supported by increased funding, and greater coordination at the binational, national, state and local levels. The report also suggested adapting new and emerging technologies to reduce emissions from diesel trucks and buses and other vehicles.

Boosting public transportation to reduce the numbers of vehicles crossing the border each day is another strategy for addressing emission levels and air quality, the report suggested.

"Low sulfur diesel fuel, emerging technologies, more involvement with tribal governments, and partnerships with border-security agencies are just a few examples of the tools we should be using," said Paul Ganster, chairman of the environment board.

Population growth, urban development, off-road vehicular traffic, and undocumented migration are some of the factors threatening the integrity of cultural and natural resources, according to the report.

To protect what the report calls “some of the most impressive archaeological sites and traditional cultural landscapes in North America,” the report suggested greater border security efforts to prevent the flow of undocumented migrants through border tribal lands where migrant traffic has damaged sacred sites, burial grounds and archeological sites.

In addition, the report recommended suggested better-managed growth through increasing partnerships between preservation groups and government agencies. Private landowners and developers also should be given incentives to voluntarily protect natural and cultural resources.

The Good Neighbor Environmental Board is an independent federal advisory committee. Its mission is to advise the U.S. president and Congress on good neighbor practices along the U.S. border with Mexico, and its recommendations are focused on environmental infrastructure needs in the U.S. states contiguous to Mexico.

The board was created under the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative, adopted in 1992. The board’s members represent business, governments and tribal groups along the border who maintain close ties to Mexican counterparts. Previous reports issued by the board have focus on water resources and children’s health in the border region.

The full text (PDF, 78 pages) of the report, U.S.-Mexico Border Environment: Air Quality and Transportation and Cultural and Natural Resource, is available on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Web site.


(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)