• NEW STEP I FORMS RECEIVED

With more than 100 people representing local, state and federal authorities, non-governmental organizations and border communities in attendance, the BECC Board of Directors unanimously certified the wastewater treatment project for Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua, during a public meeting held in Las Cruces on September 30^th. The $30 million project will provide wastewater treatment to the 1.2 million residents of the city for the first time in its history.

With the certification of the Juarez project, the BECC has certified 17 environmental infrastructure projects, with a total estimated investment cost of $260 million, to benefit nearly 5 million border residents on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. The eight U.S. projects and nine Mexican projects will provide needed solutions to one of the BECC’s three priority areas: water supply, wastewater treatment and/or municipal solid waste management. Projects certified by the BECC qualify for financing consideration from the North American Development Bank (NADB), located in San Antonio, Texas.

Of the 17 projects certified, ten have begun construction. An additional project is scheduled to begin construction shortly. The NADB has approved financing packages for four of the projects.

The Juarez project includes the following components:

• two wastewater treatment plants, "North" and "South," which will provide Advanced Primary Treatment (APT), improving the quality of the effluent that is used for agricultural irrigation purposes. The North and South plants have been designed to treat 57 MGD and 22.8 MGD, respectively, although the South plant will be able to reach a capacity of 80 MGD. Estimated Cost: $22.6 million
• supplemental sanitation projects that will include new conveyance lines for drainage and wastewater collection lines and rehabilitate and replace wastewater collection lines in various sectors of the city. This portion of the project will increase the provision of wastewater collection services from 80 percent to 93 percent coverage, such that 100% of the areas covered by the drinking water supply service will have wastewater collection service. Estimated Cost: $6.6 million.

The project will be funded by a variety of sources including:

• Mexico’s National Water Commission: $5.6 million
• FINFRA-BANOBRAS: $5.4 million
• Junta Municipal de Agua y Saneamiento (project sponsor): $1.5 million
• Capital provided by the concessionaire firm for construction, operation and maintenance of the two plants: $5.6 million

Additionally, with certification, the project sponsor is eligible to receive an $11 million grant through the NADBANK’s Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF), funded by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. With $12.5 million in funding from the National Water Commission, FINFRA-BANAOBRAS and the project sponsor already in place, the project sponsor is scheduled to initiate construction on the project during the first week of January 1998. Construction of the project is scheduled to take 18 months.

BECC General Manager Javier Cabrera congratulated the hard work of the Juarez community on the project. He added that funds from the two governments will be able to support nearly 80% of project costs, thus minimizing impacts to user fees. Additionally, he noted that the Juarez community participation process is a model to follow in working on other border projects.

In other matters of the Board, Peter Silva, BECC’s Deputy General Manager, reported that the BECC approved $365,000 in technical assistance grants to fund the development of projects in Donna, Socorro and San Elizario, Texas; Matamoros and Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas; and San Luis, Arizona.

The Border Environment Cooperation Commission, an international organization based in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico seeks an individual to assess the environmental impacts of environmental infrastructure projects along the U.S./Mexican border. Duties include: review projects for compliance with the BECC Project Certification Criteria; review projects for conformance with the High Sustainability Recognition program; develop procedures and guidelines; prepare scope-of-works; supervise consultants; monitor activities of international and border area institutions; prepare reports and recommendations.

The applicant must have a degree in health, natural resources, planning, environmental law, engineering, international development, or related field; three years international conservation and development project experience, including analysis of environmental impacts of water, wastewater, and solid waste projects; knowledge of U.S. and Mexican environmental laws and regulations; knowledge of border area natural and cultural resources, health conditions, and socioeconomic factors; knowledge of strategies to conserve natural resources, build institutional and human capacity; and promote sustainable development at the community and regional level; computer literacy; and understanding of English and Spanish.

Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

Send curriculum vitae or resume, including salary history, by November 7, 1997 to:

Rita Ruvalcaba

BECC Administrative Director

P.O. Box 221648

El Paso TX. 79913

or

Blvd. Tomas Fernandez 7940

Torres Campestre 6o. piso

Cd. Juarez, Chih. C.P. 32470

Tel. 52 (16) 29-23-95

The next public meeting of the Board of Directors is scheduled for December 5, 1997, in Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua. The exact time and location of the meeting will be announced in the next edition of the newsletter.

The Technical Assistance Manual, a user-friendly community guide to the Technical Assistance Program, is now available for community use. The text of the manual is maintained on the BECC’s website at: http://cocef.interjuarez.com, under "Technical Assistance" in the table of contents. For a hard copy, please contact Ms. Angeles Villarreal, at tel: (011-52-16) 29-23-95, or e-mail: twilliams@cocef.interjuarez.com.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region VI, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, announces their new toll free help line, to assist with any environmental questions that residents of Region VI (Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas) might have. The number is 1-800-887-6063. For questions, contact Gilbert Mireles or Dolores Oldham, with EPA, at the toll-free number.

In accordance with Article I of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission’s (BECC) Procedures Regarding Public Notice and Comment on Project Applications, the BECC has received a Step I Form for the following projects during the month of September. Please note that this listing does not represent any type of BECC staff recommendation concerning the potential for project certification.

For more information, contact Mr. Edgardo Tovilla, BECC’s Technical Coordinator, Tel: (011-52-16) 29-23-95; E-mail: etovilla@cocef.interjuarez.com.