[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 185 (Tuesday, September 24, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59841-59843]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-24230]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7381-5]


U.S.-Mexico Border 2012 Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of the availability of the draft document for the U.S.-
Mexico Border 2012 Program.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing 
the availability of the draft document, ``Border 2012: U.S.-Mexico 
Environmental Program'' (Border Plan or Border 2012). Border 2012 is a 
10-year, binational, results-oriented, environmental program for the 
U.S.-Mexico border region, which has been developed by the EPA, the 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Secretar[iacute]a de 
Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (Mexico's Secretariat of 
Environment and Natural Resources), Secretar[iacute]a de Salud 
(Mexico's Secretar[iacute]a of Health), the U.S. border Tribes, and the 
environmental agencies from each of the ten U.S.-Mexico border states. 
The proposed Border 2012 Program is the latest multi-year, binational 
planning effort to be implemented under the La Paz Agreement and 
succeeds Border XXI, a five-year program that ended in 2000. The 
mission of Border 2012 is to protect public health and the environment 
in the U.S.-Mexico border region, consistent with the principles of 
sustainable development.
    EPA is requesting comments from interested parties and border 
stakeholders on the draft Border Plan.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted no later than November 22, 
2002. Written comments can be submitted by mail or fax to either of 
EPA's Border Offices. Comments can also be submitted on EPA's U.S.-
Mexico Border Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/usmexicoborder. In 
addition, EPA will be accepting comments at public meetings to be held 
throughout the border region during October and November 2002. The 
draft document, ``Border 2012: U.S.-Mexico Environmental Program'', is 
posted in English and Spanish on EPA's web page at: http://www.epa.gov/usmexicoborder. In addition, English/Spanish copies of the draft 
document can be requested by contacting either of the EPA Border 
Offices:

EPA El Paso Border Office: 4050 Rio Bravo, Suite 100, El Paso, Texas 
79902. Telephone (915) 533-7273; Toll-free (800) 334-0741; FAX (915) 
533-2327. Office Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. C.S.T.
EPA San Diego Border Office: 610 West Ash St., Suite 905, San Diego, CA 
92101. Telephone (619) 235-4765; Toll-free (800) 334-0741; FAX (619) 
235-4771. Office Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. P.S.T.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: EPA El Paso Border Office at (915) 
533-7273 or (800) 334-0741 or EPA San Diego Border Office at (619) 235-
4765 or (800) 334-0741.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    For decades, the U.S. and Mexico have collaborated on efforts to 
protect the environment and health of border communities. The most 
recent binational effort was the Border XXI Program, which was 
initiated in 1996 with a five-year plan for addressing the most 
challenging environmental and environmentally-related health problems 
in the region. The formal foundation for these binational efforts is 
the La Paz Agreement (http://www.epa.gov/usmexicoborder/2002/efpaz.htm) 
signed by Presidents De la Madrid and Reagan in 1983. The agreement is 
implemented through multi-year binational programs such as Border XXI 
and the new Border 2012 program.
    Although most of the Border XXI projects were implemented at the 
local level, its organizational structure emphasized border-wide 
coordination and planning. Nine border-wide workgroups--each focused on 
a particular environmental program, such as air quality or hazardous 
waste management--coordinated the efforts of various federal, state, 
tribal and local governmental activities in the border area. The new 
Border 2012 Program builds upon the successes achieved under Border XXI 
while also establishing a regionally-focused border plan to facilitate 
environmental priority setting and planning at the regional and local 
levels.

II. A New Approach

    The proposed Border 2012 emphasizes a bottom-up approach, 
anticipating that local decision-making, priority-setting and project 
implementation will best address environmental issues in the border 
region. Border 2012 will emphasize concrete measurable results, public 
participation, transparency, and timely access to environmental 
information.
    The Border 2012 Program proposes some key changes from Border XXI 
including: (1) New mission statement; (2) integration of pollution 
prevention and environmental information into the activities of all 
coordinating bodies; and (3) new organizational structure that focuses 
on regional workgroups to facilitate regional- and local-level planning 
and priority setting.
    The major features of the Border 2012 program are the following: 
the coordinating bodies, goals and measurable objectives, and reporting 
results to the public.

III. Coordinating Bodies

    Border 2012 is organized around coordinating bodies. These 
coordinating

[[Page 59842]]

bodies include the following: the National Coordinators, four Regional 
(geographically-focused) Workgroups, three Border-wide Workgroups, and 
Policy Forums.

A. National Coordinators

    Consistent with the requirements of the La Paz Agreement, the 
National Coordinators will monitor and manage implementation of the 
Border 2012 Program and ensure cooperation and communication among all 
coordinating bodies.

B. Regional Workgroups

    Providing the foundation of the Border 2012 Program, four multi-
media, regionally-focused workgroups will support the efforts of local 
Task Forces and coordinate activities at the regional and local level. 
The proposed Regional Workgroups are the following: California--Baja 
California, Arizona--Sonora, New Mexico--Texas--Chihuahua, and Texas--
Coahuila--Nuevo Le[oacute]n--Tamaulipas. Each Regional Workgroup will 
be co-chaired by one state and one federal representative from each 
country.

C. Border-wide Workgroups

    Border-wide Workgroups will concentrate on issues that are multi-
regional (identified as a priority by two or more Regional Workgroups) 
and primarily federal in nature (requiring direct, high-level, and 
sustained leadership by federal program partners in the United States 
and Mexico). Three Border-wide Workgroups will have federal U.S. and 
Mexican co-chairs for the following issues: environmental health, 
emergency preparedness and response, and cooperative enforcement and 
compliance.

D. Policy Forums

    Policy Forums will have a media-specific focus and will concentrate 
on broad policy issues that require an on-going dialogue between the 
two countries. Three Policy Forums will be established to address 
policy issues and provide technical assistance to the Regional and 
Border-wide Workgroups in the following areas: air, water, hazardous 
waste, solid waste, and toxic substances.
    The Regional Workgroups, Border-wide Workgroups, and the Policy 
Forums will be broad-based and will include representation from local 
communities from both sides of the border, including non-governmental 
or community-based organizations; academic institutions; local, state, 
and tribal representatives; and binational organizations (such as the 
Border Environmental Cooperation Commission or the North American 
Development Bank) with expertise in the given workgroup's subject area.
    Except for the National Coordinators, the coordinating bodies may 
create Task Forces to address specific community-identified concerns 
and implement site-specific projects. Task Forces will be led by a 
``team leader'' from each country and may be from any sector of 
government (including tribal governments), the private sector, 
academia, or from non-governmental organizations.

IV. Goals and Objectives

    Border 2012 establishes the following five border-wide 
environmental goals for the U.S.-Mexico border region: reduce water 
contamination, reduce air pollution; reduce land contamination; reduce 
exposure to pesticides, particularly children's exposure; and reduce 
exposure to chemicals as a result of accidental chemical releases and/
or deliberate acts of terrorism.
    For each of the above goals, measurable objectives have been 
proposed. In all, there are fifteen measurable objectives. These 
objectives are in the areas of:
    [sbull] Homes connected to potable water, wastewater collection and 
treatment systems;
    [sbull] Surface and groundwater water quality;
    [sbull] Ambient air quality standards;
    [sbull] Human risk from air toxics;
    [sbull] Voluntary compliance in maquiladoras;
    [sbull] Hazardous and solid waste capacity in the border region;
    [sbull] Hazardous waste violations at ports of entry;
    [sbull] Tire piles;
    [sbull] Brownfields;
    [sbull] Pesticide exposure;
    [sbull] Contingency planning; and
    [sbull] Binational emergency planning.

V. Reporting Results

    Every two years the coordinating bodies will publish an 
implementation report that describes the status of current and proposed 
activities under the Border 2012 program. In addition, comprehensive 
mid-term and final progress reports that describe progress on meeting 
the goals and objectives of the program, including environmental 
indicators, will be published in 2006 and 2012 respectively.

VI. Public Input and Participation During the Comment Period

    EPA, SEMARNAT, and the U.S. and Mexican border states are seeking 
input from border stakeholders and other interested parties about the 
proposed Border 2012 program. We invite public comments related to all 
aspects of the proposed Border 2012 plan, and, in particular, we are 
interested in comments related to the following topics:
    [sbull] Once established, each Regional Workgroup will develop 
specific plans and projects for that Region. What are the most 
important environmental issues for each region? Some examples of 
important environmental issues are included in the draft document.
    [sbull] Will the new structure, especially the introduction of 
Regional Workgroups and Task Forces, help focus on the key 
environmental issues in each region? Are there improvements that could 
be made to the proposed structure that would improve decision-making?
    [sbull] Will the Border 2012 plan provide adequate input from 
border stakeholders to state and federal decision-makers? Are there 
ways to improve the workgroup process to insure that stakeholders' 
concerns are heard?
    A number of opportunities for the public to comment on the draft 
document are provided as follows:

A. EPA U.S.-Mexico Border Web Site

    Individuals can submit comments directly by filling out the public 
comment form at: http://www.epa.gov/usmexicoborder/

B. Public Meetings

    A number of public meetings will be held in October and November in 
the following cities: Deming, New Mexico; Las Cruces, New Mexico; 
Alpine, Texas; Imperial County, California Yuma/San Luis, Arizona; 
Sells, Arizona; Douglas, Arizona. In addition, bi-national meetings 
will be held in San Diego, California/Tijuana, Baja California; 
Nogales, Arizona/Nogales,Sonora; El Paso, Texas/Ciudad Ju[aacute]rez, 
Chihuahua; Del Rio, Texas/Ciudad Acu[ntilde]a, Coahuila; Laredo, Texas/
Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas; Brownsville, Texas/Matamoros,Tamaulipas. For 
meeting locations and times, please check the EPA U.S.-Mexico Border 
website or contact the EPA Border Offices. Public comment will be 
accepted at these meetings.
    C. Interested parties can also mail or fax comments to the EPA 
Border Offices at the addresses and fax numbers listed above.

D. On-Line Dialogue

    The Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy will be hosting an 
on-line dialogue on the BECCNet Listserve during the comment period for 
interested parties to exchange ideas

[[Page 59843]]

about the draft plan. The purpose of this dialogue is not to submit 
public comment, but rather to provide a forum for discussion of the 
draft document. To participate in or to monitor this dialogue, one must 
subscribe to the BECCNet Listserve. The instructions for subscribing to 
the BECCNet can be found on the Udall Center Web site at: http://udallcenter.arizona.edu/listservs/beccnet.html

VII. EPA's Relationship With U.S. Border Tribes in Border 2012

    EPA will continue to honor its unique trust relationship with U.S. 
Indian tribes and enforce its ``Policy for the Administration of 
Environmental Program on Indian Reservations'' within the Border 2012 
U.S.-Mexico program. EPA recognizes that U.S. tribal governments are 
sovereign and are the primary parties for setting standards, making 
environmental policy decisions, and managing environmental programs on 
Indian reservations.
    Within the Border 2012 Program, EPA will comply with Executive 
Order 13175, ``Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal 
Governments'' and work with tribes when formulating and implementing 
policies or taking other actions that have a substantial direct effect 
on any Indian tribe.
    EPA is working with U.S. border tribes to develop mechanisms to 
ensure full participation of U.S. border tribes in the Border 2012 
Program.

    Dated: September 18, 2002.
Joan Fidler,
Director Office of Western Hemisphere and Bilateral Affairs, Office of 
International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 02-24230 Filed 9-23-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P