Border 2012
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Accomplishments Report (2010-2012)
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U.S.-Mexico Environmental Program
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Message from the National Coordinators 

In April 2003, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and 

Mexico’s Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT) 

initiated the third bi-national agreement to protect the environment and public 

health in their shared border region through the signing of the United StatesMexico Environmental Program: Border 2012. 

Over the past ten years, the Border 2012 program has brought together federal, 

state, and local governments; United States border tribes; Mexico’s indigenous 

communities; and stakeholders and border communities of both countries, to 

address the most pressing environmental issues along our shared border. 

Through the Border 2012 Program, we have promoted and fostered a strong 

bi-national partnership that has allowed us to achieve concrete and measurable 

results and adopt an effective bottom up approach for decision making and priority 

setting. The Border 2012 Program has also been instrumental in developing and 

strengthening the capacity of border communities to become more sustainable and 

to better address environmental and public health issues. 

We are very proud of the achievements made in protecting and improving 

environmental conditions for millions of residents along the United States-Mexico 

border, which could not have been possible without the support and commitment 

of all of our partners. As National Program Coordinators, we acknowledge and 

celebrate your work, dedication, and commitment, which has been an essential 

ingredient in the successful accomplishment of our ambitious goals and objectives. 

This report highlights key results achieved in the past two years and is also the 

last report of the Border 2012 Program, which reaches its conclusion this year. 

Though we are closing the Program, we are excited about the new bi-national 

border program, Border 2020, which was developed through extensive public input 

and participation. The new Program, signed in mid-2012, will continue the long 

standing collaboration and cooperation among the United States and Mexico to 

improve the environment in our shared border region. 

Michelle J. DePass Enrique Lendo Fuentes

National Coordinator, United States National Coordinator, Mexico 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CoNteNts
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Introduction 2 

Reduce Water Contamination 4 

Reduce Air Contamination 6 

Reduce Land Contamination 10 

Improve Environmental Health 14 

Enhance Joint Readiness for Environmental Response 18 

Improve Environmental Compliance, Performance and Stewardship 20 

Tribal and Indigenous Communities Initiatives 22 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	 	

 

Introduction 

Border 2012 Wraps up 

Remarkable 10-Year Effort 

The Border 2012 Environmental Program has proved itself a model for bi-national programs 

aimed at improving conditions at the U.S.-Mexico border. Since its inception in 2003, the 

program has used a community-based approach that focuses on the environmental needs 

expressed by people who live and work in the border region. Projects funded by Border 2012 

have covered a range of activities including scrap tire removals, watershed cleanups, air quality 

monitoring, storm water harvesting, soil sampling and community health worker training. 

The following pages describe projects that were completed or were near completion by the close 

of the Border 2012 program. The report is not intended to be a comprehensive listing of all 

projects, but rather a snapshot of notable achievements during the final years of the program, 

2010-2012. Project summaries are categorized under each of the program’s six environmental 

goals. A separate section describes the program’s tribal and indigenous communities initiatives. 

To view additional Border 2012 accomplishments, please visit the program website at:

www.epa.gov/border2012/. 

A volunteer removes bags of trash 

during a Border 2012-sponsored 

cleanup near Tecate in Baja 

California 

Border 2012 Goals

1.	 Reduce Water Contamination 

2.	 Reduce Air Contamination 

3.	 Reduce Land Contamination 

4.	 Improve Environmental Health 

5.	 Enhance Joint Readiness for Environmental Response 

6.	 Improve Environmental Performance, Compliance and Stewardship 

Cover Photo

Chisos Mountains, Big Bend 

National Park, Texas 

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Introduction 

Program Takes Full Measure 

of Borderwide Needs 

Since its signing in 2003, the Border 2012 U.S.-Mexico Environmental Program has 

successfully completed more than 400 projects. Most projects were designed to address 

environmental or public health issues specific to a community. A smaller number of projects 

were applied to environmental issues that were deemed significant to communities throughout 

the border region. Under these borderwide projects, Border 2012 posted some of its most 

noteworthy achievements: 

•	� More than 12 million scrap tires were removed from clandestine dump sites in the U.S. 

and Mexico. 

•	� Under the EPA’s Border Environment Infrastructure Fund and with assistance from agencies 

in the U.S. and Mexico, an estimated 54,000 homes were connected to safe drinking 

water systems and more than 500,000 homes were connected to wastewater collection and 

treatment services. 

•	� Federal and state officials in the U.S. and Mexico collected more than 73 metric tons of 

unused pesticides and agro-chemicals from rural collection sites on both sides of the border. 

•	� Border 2012 collaborated with the U.S. Department of Defense’s Northern Command 

(USNORTHCOM) to enhance readiness and improve emergency response in the event 

of a border environmental disaster. The effort resulted in a series of knowledge exchanges, 

technical trainings, table top exercises and hazardous material equipment transfers in nine 

sister cities along the U.S.-Mexico border. 

•	� Fifteen (15) sister city emergency-contingency plans were created ensuring a coordinated binational response in the event of a border emergency. 

•	� A series of community cleanups resulted in the removal of an estimated 673,300 tons of 

solid waste from illegal dump sites, watersheds, estuaries and public drain systems in the 

U.S. and Mexico. 

•	� Approximately 570 tons of e-waste were properly disposed or recycled in communities on 

both sides of the border. 

•	� Greenhouse gas emissions (GHE) inventories were completed for each Mexican border state. 

A Border 2012 project to remove 

scrap tires from illegal dump 

sites resulted in the development 

of regional plans for long-term, 

sustainable management of waste 

tires throughout the border region 

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Reduce Water Contamination 

The city of Matamoros suffered 

from clogged and polluted drains 

prior to a citywide cleanup and 

educational campaign sponsored 

by Border 2012 

Community partners discuss 

plans for a long-term solution to 

inadequate waste management 

in Tijuana’s Los Laureles Canyon, 

thereby reducing the risk of disease 

and the threat of polluting the 

Tijuana Estuary downstream 

Matamoros Eliminates Tons of 

Trash Clogging City Drains 

With funding from Border eliminated 3,341 tons of the Community Sanitation 

2012, the Water and municipal garbage and 1,426 Brigade to educate residents 

Sewer Board of the city of scrap tires clogging the city’s living near the drains in the 

Matamoros successfully sewer and drain systems. The importance of maintaining 

unsightly problem promoted a clean community with 

a culture of environmental sanitary drains. Throughout 

degradation and raised the Matamoros, colorful murals 

specter of disease from the were painted on public walls 

standing pools of polluted emphasizing respect for 

water. As part of the project, the city’s sewer and drain 

utility crews cleared 32.1 systems. To sustain the 

kilometers (about 20 miles) program, the city government 

of public drains and sewage adopted new regulations 

canals. Meanwhile, 440 for policing the drains to 

school students enlisted in discourage illegal dumping. 

Partners Remove Garbage 

Flowing to Tijuana Estuary
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Border 2012 teamed with suffers from inadequate capacity for long-term waste 

the nonprofit WiLDCOAST collection and disposal of management. The partners 

and a partnership of residential solid waste, posing improved the community’s 

community and government a health risk to the 48,000 access to waste collection 

organizations to organize residents and polluting the by installing 100 trash bins 

a series of workshops to Tijuana Estuary downstream and trained six community 

improve residential waste in San Diego. Fundamental health workers in promoting 

disposal in Tijuana’s Los to the project was an effort to behavioral change. The 

Laureles Canyon. The canyon strengthen the community’s project was part of a longterm effort by Border 

2012 that has resulted in 

the removal of more than 

3,800 cubic yards of trash 

and garbage from the 

canyon, reducing the risks 

to residents and removing 

a standing threat to the 

estuary on the U.S. side of 

the border. 

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Reduce Water Contamination 

Border 2012 Invests in 

Infrastructure, Storm Water 

Harvesting in Arizona 

With funding from storage of the water to is part of a Border 2012 

Border 2012, the nonprofit support gardening or natural regional effort to promote the 

Watershed Management vegetation. WMG estimates capture and reuse of storm 

Group (WMG) of Tucson the project will allow for water runoff. 

has launched an ambitious capture of 63,500 cubic feet 

project to improve the quality of water annually, reducing 

of storm water runoff at runoff into the Nogales Wash 

three locations along the and Santa Cruz River. The 

Arizona-Sonora border. project includes a series of 

The project uses “green community education and 

infrastructure” landscaping training workshops to foster 

and rain water harvesting use of storm water harvesting 

to capture polluted runoff and to ensure long-term 

from roads and rooftops, maintenance of the installed 

allowing for seepage or landscaping. The project 

Laredo Group Revives 

Día del Río Celebration
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With support and Native Americans, and state maintain interest in the 

encouragement from Border and federal officials in the event, organizers formed a 

2012, the Rio Grande U.S. and Mexico participated watershed network that has 

International Study Center in festivities in Colorado, served to promote the event 

(RGISC) in Laredo, Texas, New Mexico, and Texas each year since. 

successfully revived the Día and the Mexican states of 

del Río celebration, which Durango, Coahuila, Nuevo 

had suffered from several León, and Tamaulipas. An 

years of falling participation. estimated 175 schools, clubs, 

On Oct. 16, 2010, the 16th foundations, governments 

annual Día del Río kicked off and environmental 

with hundreds of activities, organizations in the U.S. and 

attracting thousands of Mexico organized activities 

participants to the bi-national that included river cleanups, 

event held along the banks tree plantings, lectures, art 

of the Rio Grande. Students, exhibits, kayaking races 

educators, environmentalists, and street parties. To 

A raised, meandering path acts 

as a berm to retain storm water 

runoff near the Santa Cruz River in 

southern Arizona 

The Rio Grande International Study 

Center in Laredo, Texas, engaged 

in a campaign to promote the 2010 

Día del Río celebration, reviving 

participation in the annual event 

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Reduce Air Contamination 

On-road vehicles in Baja California 

emit approximately 180,000 tons of 

airborne pollutants annually 

A “green” paint sprayer is 

demonstrated to auto body 

workers in Ciudad Juárez 

Baja California Initiates Vehicle 

Inspections to Reduce Smog 

Air quality studies have vehicle smog-check program. 

found that motorized vehicles The program requires owners 

account for 54% of nitrous of the state’s 1.4 million 

oxide and 92% of carbon cars, pickups and vans to 

monoxide emissions in have their vehicles inspected 

Tijuana, and 30% and 69% annually and, if necessary, to 

of the same emissions in complete any required repairs. 

Mexicali. Beginning in 2012, Once fully implemented, the 

the state of Baja California program is expected to reduce 

with support from Border statewide vehicle emissions 

2012 instituted a mandatory by 12-24% annually. 

Juárez Combats Air Pollution 

with ‘Green’ Paint Sprayers 

With funding from Border newer, more efficient LVLP 

2012, students and faculty at sprayers. University students 

the Autonomous University visited other shop operators 

of Ciudad Juárez distributed in person to promote use of 

60 low-volume, low-pressure the new sprayers. As part of 

(LVLP) paint sprayers to city the project, the researchers 

auto body workers and urged measured levels of VOCs 

the operators to retire their released from paints and 

older spray guns, a source solvents used in the auto 

of high concentrations of painting process. Using 

volatile organic compounds digital maps, the researchers 

(VOCs). As part of the identified the potential 

project, 28 auto body for exposure to benzene 

workers, representing 20% and toluene, chemical byof the city’s body shops, products of paint spraying, 

participated in a one- in several areas of the city 

day training event that where auto shops are located 

demonstrated how to use the near residential homes. 

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Reduce Air Contamination 

Border 2012 Moves Arizona 

Gas-to-Energy Project Forward 

Santa Cruz County, Arizona, 

teamed with Border 2012 to 

complete the second stage 

of a long-term project to 

construct an energy recovery 

platform at the county’s 

Río Rico Landfill. Design, 

engineering and construction 

specifications were completed 

for the gas-to-energy project, 

which is estimated to recover 

as much as 500 standard 

cubic feet per minute in 

landfill gases, an amount 

sufficient to sustain electric 

generation of more than 

7,000,000 kW hours annually 

for 30 years. The plans 

were deemed essential to 

beginning negotiations with 

the local electric company 

for a power purchase and 

interconnection agreement, 

both necessary to obtain 

construction financing. 

Once built, the recovery 

facility will improve the 

environmental performance 

of the landfill by reducing 

10,377 tons of carbon dioxide 

from escaping annually into 

the atmosphere and putting 

electricity back into the 

grid to facilitate the utility 

company’s renewable energy 

portfolio. The Border 2012 

effort followed an earlier 

project that identified the 

feasibility of recovering 

methane gas at the landfill in 

amounts sufficient for power 

generation. 

Landfill gases from the Río Rico 

Landfill, a 60-acre facility located 

14 miles north of the U S -Mexico 

border, are deemed sufficient to 

generate electricity for 30 years 

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Viva Verde Shows Homeowners 

How to Save Energy, Money 

In 2010, Border 2012 

partnered with the Gila 

Resources Information 

Project of Silver City, New 

Mexico, in a targeted effort 

to raise awareness about 

climate change and help 

A Viva Verde contractor installs 

weather stripping to the door frame 

of a southern New Mexico home 

low-income homeowners 

save money by reducing 

their energy bills. Using 

the Viva Verde Residential 

Energy Efficiency Program, 

contractors conducted free 

in-home audits to determine 

cost-effective measures 

for reducing energy use. 

Sixty-two homes in the 

communities of Deming and 

Columbus were weatherized, 

resulting in estimated 

annual savings of $106 to 

the occupants. The homes 

were sealed with caulking 

and weather stripping, and 

families were introduced 

to the energy advantages of 

the new compact fluorescent 

light bulbs. In addition, 

project members installed 

low-flow showerheads and 

faucet aerators, and checked 

for silent leaks from toilet 

tanks. As part of the project, 

the partners educated 

homeowners about climate 

change and identified actions 

family members could take 

to reduce greenhouse gas 

emissions. At the end of 

the project, team members 

estimated their measures 

had resulted in total savings 

of 227,710 gallons of water 

(3,672 gallons per household) 

and 18,192 kilowatt hours 

(293 kilowatt hours per 

household) per year. Team 

members calculated an 

overall reduction of 75.6 tons 

of carbon dioxide emissions 

annually. 

The on-line version of the Viva 

Verde Guide in both English 

and Spanish can be accessed 

by visiting vivaverdenm.com 

Reduce Air Contamination 

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Reduce Air Contamination 

Mexicali Media Campaign 

Targets Seasonal Fireworks, 

Open Burning 

Seasonal contaminants pollute the 

air in Mexicali, Baja California 

For years, Imperial County, fuels such as scrap tires and and January, more than 2,600 

California, has been wood. To address this issue, television and radio spots 

designed “serious” in non- the Imperial County Air were broadcast. Many of the 

attainment for particulate Pollution Control District messages were targeted to 

matter (PM10). Air quality together with the Secretariat the region’s youth, both in 

monitoring in Mexicali, just for the Environment of the the U.S. and Mexico. The 

across the border, indicates State of Baja California project was deemed a success 

that it too likely suffers from developed a media campaign in taking the first step toward 

non-attainment. A known to educate residents about raising awareness of seasonal 

contributor to the region’s the environmental and air quality and educating the 

air pollution is the winter health impacts of fireworks bi-national community about 

holiday tradition in Mexicali and open burning. Over a the risks of exposure to high 

of lighting fireworks and two-year period during the concentrations of airborne 

the open-air burning of holiday weeks of December particulates. 

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Reduce Land Contamination 

Eagle Pass, Piedras Negras 

Remove 323 Tons of e-Waste 

In a joint effort, the border 

communities of Eagle Pass, 

Texas, and Piedras Negras, 

Coahuila, removed 323 

tons of scrap computers, 

appliances and electronics 

from illegal dump sites on 

both sides of the border. 

The cleanup was part of a 

larger effort to highlight the 

hazards of illegal dumping 

of electronics or e-waste, 

a major environmental 

problem in both cities, and 

to develop free collection 

sites to encourage recycling 

and proper disposal. To 

support the project, the 

Texas Commission on 

Environmental Quality 

donated funds for the 

purchase of two kid-size 

robots used for in elementary 

school presentations, 

while students from the 

Technology Institute in 

Piedras Negras staged 

environmental skits, 

performing as the Green 

Tec Osos. To sustain 

the program, the city 

of Eagle Pass created a 

waste diversion education 

program and committed 

to budgeting annually for 

citywide cleanup events. In 

Piedras Negras, students 

at the Technological 

Institute agreed to continue 

performing as the Green Tec 

Osos. In a written report, 

the cities invited other 

border communities to use 

their project as a model for 

undertaking similar efforts. 

Students from the Piedras Negras 

Technology Institute perform under 

the name of the Green Tec Osos, 

staging environmental skits for the 

city’s elementary schools 

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Reduce Land Contamination 

Researchers Trace Lead, 

Arsenic to Abandoned Smelter 

A map shows the location 

of concentric rings placed at 

500-meter distances from the main 

chimney of the ASARCO smelter 

The rings were used to organize the 

sampling of soils on the Mexican 

side of the Rio Grande 

For more than 100 years, Autonomous University of arsenic and lead generated 

the ASARCO smelter Ciudad Juárez and experts by the smelter remain in the 

on the banks of the Rio from Chihuahua’s Centro de soil on the Mexican side of 

Grande in El Paso pumped Investigación de Materiales the river in Ciudad Juárez. 

contaminants into the air Avanzados tested 320 soil In some samples, arsenic 

from a firing process that samples taken from the and lead were measured in 

separated copper, zinc and Mexican side of the Rio higher concentrations at 

lead from raw ore. In the late Grande just across the depths below the topsoil, 

1990s, the smelter’s owners border from ASARCO’s raising concerns about the 

suspended operations and abandoned smokestacks. potential for groundwater 

agreed to pay $19 million To plot their findings, the contamination. The study 

for environmental cleanup researchers drew concentric prompted public discussions 

on the U.S. side of the rings at 500-meter distances about the best measures to 

border. At the time, little from the smelter’s main remediate the contaminated 

was known about the extent chimney and displayed the areas on the Mexican side 

of contamination in Mexico. results on digital maps and of the river and how to limit 

With funding from Border satellite images. The study exposure to residents on both 

2012, engineers from the found that concentrations of sides of the bi-national border. 

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Reduce Land Contamination 

Border 2012 Partners 

Stymie Illegal Dumping 

in Tecate Colonia 

In 1999, residents of Colonia 2011, Border 2012 awarded of produce for the colonia’s 

Luis Donaldo Colosio near funding to the Fundación La 15 families. As part of the 

Tecate, Baja California, Puerta, a Tecate nonprofit, project, colonia residents 

organized a committee to strengthen the colonia’s have started a small business 

known as Las Mujeres Lluvia existing waste management collecting waste paper and 

del Sur (Women from the effort. The Fundación and plastics from local businesses 

Southern Rain) to clean its colonia partners propose and selling the materials 

up an illegal dump site. At to develop a business plan to recycling companies. 

the time, the committee for sustainable operation of Meanwhile, members of 

cleared the land and planted the orchard and plan to sow the Mujeres Lluvia del Sur 

an orchard and an organic 950 square meters (a quarter have organized community 

garden to discourage future acre) of crops, harvesting 720 cleanups of a 2-kilometer 

dumping at the site. In kilograms (1,587 pounds) stretch of the Tecate River. 

An organic produce garden is 

cultivated in Tecate’s Colonia Luis 

Donaldo Colosio to discourage 

illegal dumping at the site 

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Researchers Divert Waste Paper 

from Nogales (Sonora) Landfill
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The University of Arizona, 

through a project funded 

by Border 2012, is 

demonstrating the feasibility 

of using waste paper intended 

for the Nogales, Sonora, 

landfill in the production of 

fibrous concrete. The purpose 

of the project is to reroute 

waste paper, a significant 

problem at the landfill, for 

use in the production of 

a mixture that dries into 

fibrous blocks, walls and roof 

panels. The project team has 

opened a collection station in 

central Nogales for donated 

paper. Satellite stations 

around the city provide 

facilities for educational 

workshops and for testing 

different types of paper and 

other inputs in the mixing 

and drying of fibrous blocks. 

The project team is tracking 

the costs of materials to 

estimate the savings in 

building a typical, one-room 

structure. The team hopes to 

increase acceptance among 

regional builders, engineers 

and architects for using 

fibrous blocks in small-scale 

home construction, avoiding 

the need to dispose and 

transfer waste paper to the 

landfill. 

Workshop participants learn how to 

make fibrous concrete blocks using 

a mixture of waste paper, cement 

and sand 

To date, the most structurally 

resistant mixture is a ratio of 

1 kilogram paper, 0.5 kilogram 

cement, and 0.5 kilogram sand. 

Reduce Land Contamination 

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Improve Environmental Health 

Tijuana Colonia Reroutes 

Commercial Trucks 

to Bypass School 

With support from Border 

2012, the Environmental 

Health Coalition, a 

bi-national nonprofit, 

partnered with a team of 

Tijuana community groups 

to organize an effort to 

reduce exposure to diesel 

truck emissions at schools 

in the city’s low-income 

neighborhoods. The coalition 

and its partners met with 

public officials, distributed 

written materials, and 

A street map shows areas near 

Tijuana’s Colonia Chilpancingo that 

are now prohibited to commercial 

diesel traffic 

held press conferences 

to raise awareness of the 

health dangers from diesel 

exhaust and to advocate 

for restrictions on semitrucks passing in front 

of schools. The partners 

achieved success when 

traffic signs were placed at 

six locations prohibiting 

semi-trailers from driving 

past an elementary school 

and entering Colonia 

Chilpancingo, a community 

of 15,000 residents adjacent 

to the city’s largest industrial 

park. As a follow up to the 

project, the partners plan 

to monitor enforcement of 

the truck restricted zone 

in Colonia Chilpancingo. 

Ultimately, the coalition and 

its partners hope to advance 

a city ordinance that will 

protect all Tijuana school 

children and residential 

neighborhoods from diesel 

emissions. 

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Improve Environmental Health 

Arizona Delivers Health 

Training, Targeting 

Vulnerable Communities 

With funding from Border 

2012, researchers with the 

University of Arizona’s Binational Center designed, 

developed and tested 

modular training courses 

on environmental science 

topics for community health 

workers, or promotoras, in 

the Arizona-Sonora border 

region. The purpose of the 

project was to improve 

the lack of access to 

information by vulnerable 

or difficult-to-reach border 

populations traditionally 

served by promotoras. To 

initiate the project, the 

university researchers met 

with the health workers to 

determine their training 

needs. The workers identified 

gaps in Spanish-language 

information on pesticides, 

arsenic, environmental 

toxicology and contaminants. 

With this information, the 

university team developed 

courses on the four topics 

and then tested the content 

seeking input from more 

than 70 promotoras during 

scheduled pilot sessions. The 

university team plans to 

refine the training modules, 

which are designed to be 

used by health workers to 

train other border health 

workers, eventually reaching 

out to hundreds of families 

throughout the U.S.-Mexico 

border region. Once the 

modules are distributed, the 

researchers estimate the 

potential for informing more 

than two million individuals 

from vulnerable populations 

throughout the border. 

University of Arizona researchers 

test Spanish-language modular 

training courses with the help 

of regional community health 

workers, or promotoras 

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Improve Environmental Health 

Aqua XXI Improves Health, 

Sanitation in Rural Colonias
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A puppet theater presentation for 

children living on the outskirts 

of Ciudad Juárez highlights 

the benefits of sanitation and 

personal hygiene 

From 2009 through 2010, part of the effort, Aqua XXI surveys found improvements 

the Aqua XXI program of highlighted the advantages in knowledge of water 

Ciudad Juárez collaborated of drinking purified water, purification methods with 

with Border 2012 to organize increasing hand washing 36.6% of the 150 participants 

workshops, lectures, home and improving personal citing an increase in how 

visits and children’s puppet hygiene to address a high often they washed their 

performances to educate incidence of gastrointestinal hands. Notably, 11.5% of 

rural residents on the risks infection among the participants reported they no 

of exposure to pesticides and participants. At the end longer suffered from stomach 

household chemicals. As of the project, participant illnesses. 

The Aqua XXI project conducted 

three puppet theater presentations 

for 150 children and adults. 

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Improve Environmental Health 

Border 2012 Partners Collect 

73 Tons of Unused Pesticides
�

In a bi-national effort, 

federal and state officials 

in the U.S. and Mexico 

partnered with Border 2012 

to collect 73 metric tons 

of unused pesticides and 

agro-chemicals from rural 

locations at the U.S.-Mexico 

border. In some areas, the 

border partners declared 

“amnesty” days for farm 

operators to dispose of their 

unused or obsolete pesticides. 

In other areas, officials 

developed collection centers 

for farmers and ranchers to 

drop off unused chemicals 

and pesticide containers. The 

borderwide effort is credited 

with significantly reducing the exposure or release of 

risk to human health and the pesticides and agro-chemicals 

environment from accidental into the soil or water. 

Border 2012 Instructs 

Families in Home Safety 

The Ben Archer Health 

Center of southern New 

Mexico teamed up with 

Border 2012 in an ambitious 

project to conduct 500 

in-home environmental 

visits and educate families 

on home safety. The project 

was especially significant 

given the findings of a 

Home Safety Council 

study that identified 

southern New Mexico 

as reporting the highest 

incidents of deaths annually 

in the United States from 

unintentional home injuries 

(13.03 deaths per 100,000 

persons compared to the 

lowest rate of 3.33 deaths 

per 100,000 persons in 

Massachusetts). The Border 

2012 effort targeted lowincome families living in 

four New Mexico counties. 

Community health workers, 

also known as promotoras,

visited the families in their 

homes, offering handouts 

and materials on topics such 

as food storage, pesticide use 

and home safety. The health 

workers identified areas of a 

home that needed attention 

such as unsecured medicine 

cabinets. Follow-up visits 

were conducted to determine 

changes in behavior and, 

where necessary, to remove 

barriers to improvement. An 

evaluation of the project 

found significant increases in 

participant knowledge on a 

variety of environmental and 

home safety topics. 

Barrels of bulk liquid pesticide are 

collected at a drop-off site during 

the Border 2012 collection drive in 

San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora 

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Enhance Joint Readiness for Environmental Response 

Border 2012 partnered with the 

U S Department of Defense 

Northern Command to practice 

cross-border emergency response 

to a mock exercise that simulated 

an oil spill on the California-Baja 

California coast 

Mexico and U.S. Practice Joint 

Response to Border Disasters
�

Since 2007, Border 2012 

has partnered with the U.S. 

Department of Defense 

Northern Command 

(USNORTHCOM) to 

strengthen emergency 

response and enhance 

readiness along the border. 

USORTHCOM has been 

instrumental in supporting 

numerous training, 

knowledge exchanges 

and equipment transfers 

for emergency responders 

throughout the border region. 

The latest effort in this 

important collaboration was a 

two-day emergency response 

exercise in San Diego with 

participation from more than 

100 individuals from U.S. 

and Mexican federal agencies. 

On the first day, officials 

from the U.S. EPA, Mexico’s 

Procuraduría Federal de 

Protección al Ambiente 

(PROFEPA) and the U.S. 

Coast Guard reviewed their 

preparedness and the ability 

to respond to a variety of 

hazardous incidents. On 

the second day, a mock 

emergency was initiated in 

which participants responded 

to a simulated oil spill, both 

at sea and on land. 

Sonora Maquiladora Workers 

Train for Emergency Response
�

In the event of a hazardous 

materials incident at 

the U.S.-Mexico border, 

employees of Mexico’s 

manufacturing plants, or 

maquiladoras, are likely to be 

among the first on the scene. 

With training, maquiladora

workers may also be in the 

best position to minimize 

the potential for loss of life 

and reduce environmental 

degradation. With funding 

from Border 2012, Arizona 

State University provided 

four 3-day Emergency 

Response courses for 167 

workers at manufacturing 

facilities in the SonoraArizona border. Three 

courses were held at facilities 

in Nogales (Sonora); a fourth 

course was conducted in 

Agua Prieta. The curriculum, 

which was delivered in 

Spanish, included lectures, 

videos and hands-on group 

activities. The training 

focused on hazard awareness, 

personal protective 

equipment, instrumentation, 

emergency response planning 

and included information on 

relevant Mexican laws and 

regulations. Emphasis was 

placed on potential terrorist 

activities and natural disasters. 

Local firefighters participated 

in the courses, demonstrating 

their response capabilities 

and coordinating with the 

host maquiladoras in the case 

of a future incident. All four 

courses received positive 

evaluations, and several 

participants asked about the 

possibility for additional 

training in the future. 

18
 

Enhance Joint Readiness for Environmental Response 

Border 2012 Updates Sister City 

Plans in Texas-Coahuila 

The Rio Grande Institute in 

Austin, Texas, has served in a 

variety of roles demonstrating 

expertise in the areas of 

emergency preparedness and 

response. In 2011, the Border 

2012 program contracted 

with the Institute to update 

and improve the Sister City 

Emergency Preparedness and 

Response Plans currently 

in place for Eagle PassPiedras Negras and Del 

Rio-Ciudad Acuña. The 

existing plans were cited 

as outdated and in need of 

revision to address changes in 

demographics, transportation 

and community services. In 

preparing the new plans, the 

Institute proposes to assess 

the risk for disasters, both 

natural and manmade, that 

may impact each of the sister 

city pairs. The new plans 

will include digital maps 

showing evacuation routes 

and describing procedures for 

response. Once completed, 

the plans will be submitted to 

each sister city for adoption. 

This Border 2012 effort is a 

direct response to the goals 

of the U.S.-Mexico Border 

Program and is designed 

to reduce the risk to lives, 

property and the natural 

environment within the 

boundaries of the sister cities. 

A bridge over Amistad Dam, 

upstream from the border sister 

cities of Del Rio-Ciudad Acuña, 

serves as an example of important 

infrastructure for cross-border 

emergency preparedness and 

response 

There is a long list of risks, both 

natural and manmade, that 

have the potential to impact 

lives and property on both sides 

of the Texas-Mexico border. 

19
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Improve Environmental Compliance, Performance and Stewardship 

Border 2012 Sharpens Accuracy 

of Tijuana GHG Emissions 

Prior to assessing the risks 

of air pollution on human 

health and ecosystems, an 

accurate measurement 

is required of emissions, 

pollutants and chemical 

transfers. Border 2012 

provided support to the city 

of Tijuana to strengthen 

reporting of GHG emissions 

and update the city’s existing 

chemical registry (RETC). 

The project provided a 

written report explaining 

how businesses and policy 

makers might improve the 

accuracy of their emission, 

pollutant and transfer 

measurements. To initiate the 

project, the city supplied a list 

of commercial firms under 

its jurisdiction. Key to the 

success of the project was the 

development of a statistical 

method for estimating 

emissions and chemical 

transfers by industry sector. A 

project deliverable included 

a guide with instructions 

on how to prepare Tijuana’s 

annual Municipal Operation 

Certificate, or COAM, a key 

document required by the 

Mexican federal government. 

In addition to assisting the 

city of Tijuana, the project 

provided guidance to 

businesses on how to identify 

and reduce environmental 

inefficiencies, thereby 

minimizing releases and 

lowering industrial costs. 

Auto Businesses Offered 

Compliance Training
�

With funding from 

Border 2012, San Diego 

County’s Department of 

Environmental Health 

partnered with the 

Environmental Training 

Center at Cuyamaca College 

to educate automotive shop 

owners in environmental 

laws and regulations and 

introduce the shop owners 

to pollution prevention 

strategies. Going door 

to door, two Cuyamaca 

College student interns 

canvassed more than 350 

automotive businesses, 

recruiting more than 100 

operators for participation 

in pollution prevention and 

environmental management 

workshops. As part of the 

project, San Diego County 

granted “no fault” hazardous 

waste audits for businesses 

identified as chronic 

violators of California’s 

environmental or waste 

regulations. To reward 

businesses for participating 

in the project, 37 operators 

were offered free admission 

to a 40-hour HAZWOPER 

certification course, and a 

subset of those received free 

training and certification in 

Environmental Management 

Systems. The student interns, 

in turn, earned college 

credit toward completion 

of their associate degrees 

in Environmental Health 

and Safety Management. 

Of note, this Border 2012 

project—titled Border 

Area Development & 

Growth of Environmental 

Responsibility, or 

BADGER—received 

California’s prestigious 

Community Development 

Award at the state’s annual 

environmental regulatory and 

training conference. 

20
 

Improve Environmental Compliance, Performance and Stewardship 

COLEF Examines Solutions 

for Managing Mexico’s e-Waste 

In 2006, the Colegio de la 

Frontera Norte (COLEF) 

published the first inventory 

of Mexico’s electronic waste, 

or e-waste. At the time, 

COLEF identified the need 

for disposal of between 

180,000 and 250,000 

tons of obsolete Mexican 

electronics, based on market 

and lifecycle trends for 

appliances. As a follow up, 

Mexico’s National Institute of 

Ecology (INE) developed an 

inventory of electronic waste 

in Mexico’s northeastern 

states, estimating the need 

for proper disposal of 19,600 

tons of e-waste in Nuevo 

León, 11,914 in Coahuila 

and 16,817 in Tamaulipas. 

The INE report cited a 

lack of infrastructure for 

handling e-waste in Mexican 

border communities. More 

recently, Border 2012 

teamed with COLEF to 

update these estimates for 

border towns in Tamaulipas, 

Nuevo León and Coahuila 

and to assess options for 

improved management of 

the region’s e-waste. As 

part of the project, COLEF 

characterized and tracked 

the current generation of 

e-waste (computers, cell 

phones, televisions, and audio 

and video players). Outcomes 

of the project included a 

waste management guide for 

border communities and an 

assessment of infrastructure 

needs for handling future 

waste. The assessment is 

intended to encourage private 

sector investment in recycling 

and waste management, 

providing a long-term 

solution for disposal of 

Mexico’s e-waste. 

An image of the lifecycle of 

electronic devices is pictured on 

the cover of the “Municipal Guide 

for Integrated Management of 

Electronic Waste and Electronic 

Equipment for Northeast Mexico,” 

published by the Colegio de 

la Frontera Norte and Mexico’s 

National Institute of Ecology under 

a project sponsored by Border 2012 

21
22

Tribal and Indigenous Communities Initiatives

Tarahumara women—wearing the 

brightly colored, billowing clothing 

traditional to their culture—listen 

during one of several environmental 

education workshops sponsored by 

Border 2012.

With funding from Border 

2012, the indigenous people 

of Colonia Tarahumara 

on the outskirts of Ciudad 

Juárez conducted 26 

environmental education and 

health workshops. Some 160 

individuals representing the 

Tarahumara or Rarámuri 

culture attended educational 

sessions on groundwater 

contamination, soil 

contamination and health 

lectures on topics chosen by 

the colonia residents. A public 

ceremony was held at the 

close of the workshops that 

included songs written for the 

occasion, dancing and food. 

Women celebrated the event 

wearing the colorful skirts 

that are a hallmark of the 

Tarahumara culture. A signin sheet at the close-out event 

identified 133 participants, a 

number representing 38% of 

the colonia’s total population.

Tarahumara Celebrate 

Educational Workshops 

in Song and Dance
23

Tribal and Indigenous Communities Initiatives

With support from 

Border 2012, Arizona 

State University (ASU) is 

conducting an experiment to 

determine whether a small, 

inexpensive water treatment 

system can successfully 

remove high concentrations 

of arsenic and nitrates from 

groundwater found in the 

U.S.-Mexico border region. 

With approval from the 

Tohono O’odham Nation, 

the ASU team installed 

a pilot test at a well site 

in the Tohono O’odham 

community of Sikul 

Himatk, Arizona. The pilot 

system uses inexpensive 

synthetic media for 

filtering contaminants from 

drinking water. The ASU 

researchers are conducting 

tests to determine whether 

the system can operate in 

the realistic conditions of 

the border. Many small 

communities in the border 

region lack the financial 

and technical capabilities 

to construct, maintain and 

operate expensive water 

treatment systems capable 

of removing multiple 

contaminants. A successful 

outcome of this project could 

improve environmental 

health in small or poor 

border communities by 

reducing exposure to high 

concentrations of arsenic and 

nitrate from drinking water.

Border 2012 Pilots Water Filter 

for Removing Arsenic, Nitrates

Researchers from Arizona State 

University test a low-cost treatment 

system for removing arsenic and 

nitrates from groundwater on 

Tohono O’odham lands near Sikul 

Himatk, Arizona.
24

Tribal and Indigenous Communities Initiatives

The Tohono O’odham 

Nation was awarded a grant 

under the EPA’s Border 

Tribal Infrastructure Fund 

to replace 6,500 feet of a 

faulty water main in Sells, 

Arizona. The old water 

line suffered from frequent 

breaks and several nearby 

homes had never been 

connected. Funding from 

the grant allows the tribe 

to replace the old line with 

poly-vinyl chloride (PVC) 

pipe and connect 38 new 

homes and structures to the 

new main. To improve the 

delivery system, the grant 

also provides for installation 

of 33 water meters, 14 

hydrants and 76 water 

taps. Planning, design and 

construction of the new main 

and distribution system is 

being conducted in phases 

through an interagency 

agreement with the Tucson 

Area Indian Health Service. 

The grant is an example of 

the collaboration between 

Border 2012 and the Border 

Tribal Infrastructure Fund 

to support the environmental 

infrastructure needs of the 

26 U.S. federally recognized 

border tribes.

Tohono O’odham Tribe 

Replaces Faulty Water Main

Utility workers in Sells, Arizona, 

plot the location of a water main, a 

practice known as “potholing.”

Tohono O’odham Nation 

requested funding to replace 

6,500 feet of a leaky water main 

and install service lines to 38 

underserved homes and buildings.
1. Auto Businesses Offered 

 Compliance Training

2. Partners Remove Garbage 

 Flowing to Tijuana Estuary

3. Tijuana Colonia Reroutes 

 Commercial Trucks to Bypass 

 School

4. Border 2012 Sharpens 

 Accuracy of Tijuana 

 GHG Emissions

5. Border 2012 Partners Stymie 

 Illegal Dumping in Tecate 

 Colonia

6. Mexicali Media Campaign 

 Targets Seasonal Fireworks, 

 Open Burning

7. Baja California Initiates Vehicle 

 Inspections to Reduce Smog

8. Border 2012 Partners Collect 

 73 Tons of Unused Pesticides

9. Border 2012 Pilots Water Filter 

 for Removing Arsenic, Nitrates

10. Tohono O’odham Tribe 

 Replaces Faulty Water Main

11. Border 2012 Moves Arizona 

 Gas-to-Energy Project Forward

12. Researchers Divert 

 Waste Paper from 

 Nogales (Sonora) Landfill 

13. Sonora Maquiladora Workers 

 Train for Emergency Response

14. Border 2012 Invests in 

 Infrastructure, Storm Water 

 Harvesting in Arizona

15. Arizona Delivers Health 

 Training, Targeting 

 Vulnerable Communities

16. Viva Verde Shows 

 Homeowners How to Save 

 Energy, Money

17. Border 2012 Instructs 

 Families in Home Safety

18. Researchers Trace Lead, 

 Arsenic to Abandoned 

 Smelter

19. Tarahumara Celebrate 

 Educational Workshops 

 in Song and Dance

20. Juárez Combats Air Pollution 

 with ‘Green’ Paint Sprayers

21. Aqua XXI Improves Health, 

 Sanitation in Rural Colonias

22. Mexico and U.S. Practice 

 Joint Response 

 to Border Disasters

23. Border 2012 Updates 

 Sister City Plans in 

 Texas and Coahuila

24. Eagle Pass, Piedras Negras 

 Remove 323 Tons of e-Waste

25. COLEF Examines Solutions 

 for Managing Mexico’s 

 e-Waste

26. Laredo Group Revives 

 Día del Río Celebration

27. Matamoros Eliminates Tons 

 of Trash Clogging City Drains
9

Water / Agua

Air / Aire

Legend / Leyenda

MÉXICO

UNITED STATES

Land / Tierra

Environmental

Health / Salud 

Ambiental

Emergency

Response /

Respueta a

Emergencias

Environmental

Stewardship / 

Administración 

Ambiental

Cañón Los Laureles 

Tijuana, BC 

Colonia Chilpancingo 

Tijuana, BC

Ciudad Juárez, Chih

Deming & Columbus, NM

Eagle Pass, TX

Piedras Negras, Coah 

Tribe / Tribu

San Diego County, CA

Colonia Luis Donaldo Colosio

Tecate, BC

Baja California

Sikul Himatk, AZ

Nogales Landfill / Relleno Sanitario

Nogales, Son

Rio Rico County Landfill / Relleno Sanitario

Santa Cruz County, AZ

Nogales Wash & Santa 

Cruz River, AZ

Arizona & 

Sonora

Ciudad Juárez, Chih

Colonia Tarahumara

Ciudad Juárez, Chih

Rural Colonias / Colonias Rurales

Ciudad Juárez, Chih

Laredo, TX

Matamoros, Tam

New 

Mexico

Nogales & Agua Prieta, Son Del Rio, TX - Ciudad Acuña, Coah

Eagle Pass, TX - Piedras Negras, Coah

Coahuila

Nuevo León

Tamaulipas

California, Baja California, 

Arizona, Sonora & Tamaulipas

15 Sister Citites /

Sells, AZ 15 Ciudades Hermanas

Mexicali, BC & Calexico, CA

Regional or 

Borderwide Project /

Proyecto Regional

o a lo largo

de la Frontera

Community Project /

Proyecto Comunitario

1

2

4

5

8

6

3 7

10

9

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25 26

27

Tijuana, BC

4

Border Region /

Región Fronteriza

City or Municipality /

Ciudad o Municipio

México - Estados Unidos Frontera