Board of Directors to Consider Project for Certification

Principles of Sustainable Development

BECC Advisory Council

Public Meeting on the Santa Rosalia Used Tire Recycling Project

Notice of public meeting

The Board of Directors of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) will consider a water supply and wastewater treatment project for Naco, Sonora for certification during its next public meeting, on Tuesday, April 30th, in Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua. The project's fundamental objective is to provide a comprehensive solution for existing water supply, sewage collection, and wastewater treatment problems. The total estimated cost of the project is $650,000 dollars to service the 5,600 population of Naco, Sonora.

• Low efficiency of the pumping equipment being used both for withdrawal from the source, as well as distribution of water to the population.
• Low water pressure in the distribution system.
• Deficiencies in water regulation capacity.
• Water distribution system without adequate pressure zones.
• Total absence of macro- and micro-metering.
• Under-utilization of the sanitary sewer system's capacity.
• Obsolete wastewater pumping system to reach treatment ponds.
• Closed wastewater treatment systems, without a fixed place for discharge of final effluent.
• Lack of an acceptable level of institutional capacity for an efficient operation, conservation and maintenance of the water supply, wastewater collection, and wastewater treatment systems.

Border Environment Cooperation Commission

P. O. Box 221648

El Paso, Texas 79913

• Lack of adequate water supply during periods of high demand.
• Soil and aquifer pollution due to the use of latrines and septic tanks, instead of discharge to the sewer system.
• Degradation of the urban environment (foul odors) due to the poor condition of the lift station for wastewater disposal.

The Advisory Council of the BECC met on February 29th, in Cd. Juarez, to review the progress of projects presently under staff review. The day-long meeting included other topics of discussion such as the Advisory Council's role in the BECC process. Advisory Council members serve as the "eyes and ears" of the BECC in their respective border states and play a meaningful role in the development and review of environmental infrastructure projects. BECC Advisory Council members serve 2-year terms. (List on page 2)

BULK RATE

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

EL PASO, TEXAS

• Absence of facilities to allow for reuse of treated wastewater.
• Lack of capacity to fulfill the recommendations for solving the border sanitation problem in Naco, Arizona, as agreed upon in Minute Nº 273 of the International Border and Water Commission between Mexico and the United States on March 19, 1987.

Water supply:(Est. Cost: $160,000 dollars)

• Recondition the current operating wells and replace the pumping equipment.
• Provide pressure zones in the distribution system.
• Increase storage capacity, as well as recondition existing storage tanks.
• Install metering at the source of supply and at the individual user connections.

Sanitary sewer system: (Est. Cost: $110,000 dollars)

• Build a main collector sewer line to send the wastewater by gravity to the treatment system.
• Install the required conveyance infrastructure, so the whole population may be connected to the sanitary sewer system.

Wastewater treatment: (Est. Cost: $310,000 dollars)

• Expand the "EAST" pond system by 13.06 acres of effective wastewater treatment surface.
• Build an inter-pond lift station to send treated water from the presently operating module to the expansion module.
• Build a lift station and piping to send treated effluent to the irrigation area, so it can be effectively reused for growing forage crops.

Institutional strengthening: (Est. Cost: $80,000 dollars)

• Design and establish digitally registered systems, to be able to easily up-date the managerial and commercial information systems.
• Provide the necessary computer equipment for the operation of these systems.

Mexico

Alfredo Alvarez Cárdenas

Director del CECUT, Tijuana, B.C.

Maria de los Angeles Pozas

The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

Dr. René Franco Barreno

Vernon Pérez Rubio Artee

Elida Rizzo García

Maria Josefina Guerrero

Directora, Centro de Investigacion y Estudios Ambientales, Nogales, Sonora

Oscar Romo - Co-Chairperson

Director Ecoparque, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte

Arturo Sepúlveda Lerma

Subsecretario de Desarrollo Urbano y Ecológico

Gobierno del Estado de Tamaulipas, Cd. Victoria

United States

Daniel W. Eckstrom

Sandra Ferniza

Executive Director, Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Phoenix, AZ

Travis C. Johnson

Kay Marr

Santa Fe, NM

Rick Reyes - Co-Chairperson

Thomas L. Soto

Arthur Trujillo

Sustainable development has been and continues to be an integral part of the project certification criteria used by the Border Environment Cooperation Commission. The concept of sustainable development was first introduced in the language of the Agreement creating the BECC, "convinced of the importance of the conservation, protection and enhancement of their [United States and Mexico] environments and the essential role of cooperation ... in achieving sustainable development for the well-being of present and future generations" and "acknowledging that the border region of the United States and Mexico is experiencing environmental problems which must be addressed in order to promote sustainable development." These concepts were incorporated into the BECC criteria for project certification. Accordingly, projects certified by the BECC must consider and incorporate principles of sustainable development in all phases of project development and must demonstrate the ability of the community to support and maintain the facility over the long-term by using measures to strengthen human and institutional capacity.

The BECC has broken new ground by developing criteria for sustainable development. It became clear after a workshop on sustainable development with internationally known experts in the sustainable development field last January that the BECC is one of a few institutions which has meaningfully incorporated sustainable development as a factor in evaluating environmental infrastructure projects. The workshop was organized by the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy and Colegio de Sonora, funded by the C.S. Mott Foundation, and attended by the BECC Board of Directors, Advisory Council Members, and staff members.

Definition of Sustainable Development

Development which meets the needs of the current generation without compromising the needs of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland Report: Our Common Future, World Commission on Environment and Development)

Principles of Sustainable Development

Principle 1: Human beings are at the center of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature

Principle 2: The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations

Principle 3: In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it

environmental education programs, or other community development benefits.

The Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) cordially invites you to attend the 8th Public Meeting of the Board of Directors on Tuesday, April 30, 1996, from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, at the Hotel Lucerna, located at Triunfo de la República #3976, in Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua.

• 9:00 am Welcome
• Report from General Manager and Deputy General Manager (Information)

- Report on Status of Previously Certified Projects

- Availability of BECC Annual Report

- Status of Small Communities Initiative

- Status of Project Development Assistance Program

- Status of MOU with NADBank

• Report from Executive Committee (Information)

- Policy for Recognizing High Sustainability Project

• Consideration of Project Certification (Action)

- Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment - Naco, Sonora

Public Comments

• Presentation of Procedures for Public Comment

- Procedure for Complaints

- Procedure for Confidentiality Requests

Public Comments

• General Comments by Board of Directors and Advisory Council
• 1:00 pm Adjourn