[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 54 (Monday, March 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12173-12174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-6324]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 6555]


Receipt of Request To Amend the Presidential Permit for an 
International Bridge on the U.S.-Mexico Border Near McAllen, TX, and 
Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of State hereby gives notice that, on March 16, 
2009, it received from the chairman of the Anzalduas Bridge Board, 
acting on behalf of the mayors of McAllen, Hidalgo, and Mission, Texas, 
a request to amend the Presidential permit that the Department issued 
in 1999 for the Anzalduas international bridge on the U.S.-Mexico 
border near McAllen, Texas and Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The 
permittee proposes the removal of article 17 of the permit. Article 17 
states that ``[t]he permittee shall limit the initial hours of 
operation of the Anzalduas International Crossing to twelve hours per 
day, seven days per week for vehicular traffic.''
    According to the Bridge Board's letter, the Department should amend 
the permit to remove article 17 so that the Department of Homeland 
Security's Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), working with 
the Anzalduas Bridge Board and Mexican customs authorities, can set the 
hours of operation of the bridge in accordance with demand and 
available resources. The letter says that limiting the operations of 
the bridge to only twelve hours per day is impractical and 
insufficient, and notes that other international bridges along the 
international border with Mexico operate 18 or 24 hours per day. The 
request suggests that operational requirements should be set at the 
local level, rather than in the Presidential permit itself.
    The Department's jurisdiction over this application is based upon 
Executive Order 11423 of August 16, 1968, as amended, and Article 1 of 
the 1999 permit, which states that the permit ``may be amended by the 
Secretary of State or the Secretary's delegate at will or upon proper 
application therefor.* * *'' As provided in E.O. 11423, the Department 
is circulating this application to relevant federal and state agencies 
for review and comment. Under E.O. 11423, the Department has the 
responsibility to determine, taking into account input from these 
agencies and other stakeholders, whether the proposed amendment of this

[[Page 12174]]

Presidential permit would be in the U.S. national interest.

DATES: Interested members of the public are invited to submit written 
comments regarding this application on or before April 22, 2009 to Mr. 
Daniel Darrach, U.S.-Mexico Border Affairs Coordinator, via e-mail at 
[email protected], or by mail at WHA/MEX--Room 3909, 
Department of State, 2201 C St., NW., Washington, DC 20520.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Daniel Darrach, U.S.-Mexico Border 
Affairs Coordinator, via e-mail at [email protected]; by 
phone at 202-647-9894; or by mail at WHA/MEX--Room 3909, Department of 
State, 2201 C St., NW., Washington, DC 20520. General information about 
Presidential Permits is available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rt/permit/.

     Dated: March 16, 2009.
Alex Lee,
Director, Office of Mexican Affairs, Department of State.
 [FR Doc. E9-6324 Filed 3-20-09; 8:45 am]
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