Board of Directors Ratifies Certification of Two ProjectsBECCNEWS JANUARY 1998
CONTENTS
Board of Directors Ratifies Certification of Two Projects
BECC Managers Travel to Nuevo Leon for Meetings
Board Of Directors Approves Technical Assistance Contracts
The Second Public Meeting held in Del Rio
The Heads of the three Environmental Organizations created under NAFTA had a meeting at BECC offices
Water Resource Management Training Course Held in Hermosillo
New Step I Project Formats Received
BECC Board Of Directors Ratifies Certification of
Mexicali and El Paso Projects
At the Special Public Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC), held in Cd. Juarez on January 7, 1998, the Board of Directors ratified the certification of two significant environmental infrastructure projects with estimated construction costs of U.S. $87 million. The projects had been previously certified conditionally at the XIV Board Public Meeting held on December 5, 1997. The projects certified are the Comprehensive Sanitation project in Mexicali and the Jonathan Rogers Water Treatment Plant Expansion project in El Paso.
The meeting, chaired by Arturo Herrera, Board Director and Commissioner of the Mexican Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), complied with the resolution issued at the December 5 Public Meeting, allowing additional time for BECCNET subscribers to provide comments. Due to an oversight, the original public comment and review period regarding the Meeting's Agenda had not been posted 30 days prior to the December 5 meeting.
Mr. Herrera stated that after reviewing public comments regarding the projects, the Board of Directors agreed to ratify the certification of both projects.
The Honorable David Minge, U.S. Congressman from Minnesota, who serves on the Senate Budget and Agriculture Committees, attended the meeting. He highlighted the important role bilateral cooperation plays in addressing the environmental challenges facing the two countries in order to benefit the border region.
BECC Managers Travel to the Mexican State of Nuevo Leon for Meetings
On January 12 and 13, the BECC Managers traveled to Monterrey, Nuevo Leon to meet with state and local authorities, SEDESOL, CNA, BANOBRAS, and North American Development Bank (NADB) officials, as well as with business and academic representatives. The meetings focused on evaluating needs and presenting action plans for the development of environmental infrastructure for the Nuevo Leon border as well as the entire border region.
A dinner meeting with state and federal officials, businessmen and university representatives was held on January 12. The objectives of the meeting were the following:
On January 13, the Meeting for Environmental Infrastructure Development for the Northern Border of Nuevo Leon was held at the Palacio de Gobierno (State Government Offices) and was sponsored jointly by the government of Nuevo Leon and the BECC. The purpose of the meeting was to introduce the recently elected mayors of the region, and to discuss programs and assistance available for development of environmental infrastructure projects related to water, sanitation, and municipal solid waste.
Attending the meeting were representatives from the government of Nuevo Leon, CNA, SEDESOL, BANOBRAS, the NADB, and the BECC.
During the first work session, Jaime Tinoco and Gustavo Rosiles, from CNA and SEDESOL, respectively, presented information on environmental infrastructure conditions along the border and coverage of water, sanitation, and municipal solid waste management and disposal services.
The second work session included an overview of the financial mechanisms available at BANOBRAS to support border environmental projects. Among those highlighted was the Environmental Infrastructure Fund (FINFRA), whose objective is to support high social return projects carried out in conjunction with the private sector. Other mechanisms include the Technical Assistance Program for Public Service Operators, whose aim is to support efficient public service compliance and capacity building via technical assistance and financing.
During the last meeting session, the BECC and NADB introduced their respective programs for project assistance and funding. Javier Cabrera, General Manager of the BECC, highlighted the innovative mechanisms of the BECC. Through its Technical Assistance Program, the BECC promotes project planning and public review, and allows access to information required by the communities throughout the project development process. Mr. Cabrera also presented the organization's long-term plan for the border and stressed the importance of evaluating and prioritizing long-term projects, such as recycling of non-hazardous industrial wastes.
Mr. Arturo Nuñez Director of Project Analysis of NADB presented information on assistance programs such as the Border Environmental Infrastructure Fund (BEIF). The U.S. EPA contributed U.S. $170 million to establish the BEIF for construction of water-related projects on both sides of the border. Mr Nuñez also presented an overview of the Institutional Development Cooperation Program (IDP). The IDP, through NADB funds, provides institutional capacity building to system operators in their management, financial, and operational areas. In addition, the NADB has a competitive loan program to supplement funding.
According to Mr. Nuñez, the NADB has financed three projects, totaling U.S. $30 million, and is planning to provide over U.S. $250 million in loans to more than ten communities. Of this amount, NADB will finance U.S. $66 million between 1998 and 1999. Through the IDP Program, the NADB has provided over U.S. $2 million in funding assistance.
The following requests and agreements were presented during the meeting:
EXCOM Approves Twelve Technical Assistance Contracts
The BECC Executive Committee (EXCOM) approved twelve contracts for technical assistance totaling U.S. $1.2 Million dollars. Technical assistance approved includes Master Plans for Water and Solid Waste and Preliminary Engineering in Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, Coahuila, California and Arizona. The contracts were approved at the EXCOM meeting held in San Antonio, Texas on January 22. Funding for technical assistance comes from the BECC Technical Assistance Program, which has a total of $10 million contributed by the U.S. EPA for water-related projects.
The following list describes the contracts approved:
The BECC Technical Assistance Program provides assistance to border communities for project development during the planning stages, financial evaluation, and institutional capacity building phases. With approval of the last seven contracts, the BECC has contributed some US 2 Million dollars in grants, strengthening the development of projects certified by the BECC.
NADB Board of Directors Recommends U.S. $37 Million in BEIF Funding
for Four Border Projects
During a meeting held on January 22, 1998 in San Antonio, Texas, the NADB Board of Directors recommended a contribution of U.S. $37 million in BEIF funding in the form of grants. The recommended grants would support four water and wastewater treatment projects certified by the BECC, with an estimated cost of U.S. $90 million. The following projects will receive grants from BEIF: Wastewater treatment project in Cd. Juarez, consisting of two treatment plants, expansion and rehabilitation of collectors and sewage system, U.S. $11.08 million; expansion of the Jonathan Rogers Water Treatment Plant in El Paso, U.S. $9.5 million; water supply and wastewater collection and treatment services in Naco, Sonora, U.S. $420,000; and a parallel sewage collection and wastewater treatment system in San Antonio de los Buenos in Tijuana, Baja California, U.S. $16 million.
The Second Public Meeting held in Del Rio
At the Second Public Meeting held last January 22 in Del Rio, the community could reviewed and made comments on the water project for this city located in the Texan border. 10 people assisted, including three representatives of the Steering Committee. Representatives of the City of Del Rio and the consulting firm, explained the technical aspects of the project, stressing the state of the art ultrafiltration with membrane treatment plant with an estimated cost of US 30 million dollars. The project includes upgrading and expansion of the water system, substitution of pumping equipment and water tanks, with an additional cost of some US 10 million dollars. The participants questioned basically the tariff increase which without the requested grants would be of 150% and with the requested grants would of 25%.
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The Heads of the three Environmental Organizations created under NAFTA had a meeting at BECC
Last January 30, the Heads of the three environmental organizations created under NAFTA, Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), North American Development Bank (NADB) and Border Environmental Cooperation Commission (BECC) officially met for the first time. The meeting was held in the context of Mr. Victor Lichtinger’s visit tO BECC. Mr. Lightinger is Executive Director of the Secretariat of CCE. The three institutions were established under NAFTA and the parallel environmental agreements.
Mr. Victor Miramontes, Manager Director of NADB, as well as Mr. Javier Cabrera, General Manager of BECC, reviewed with their CEC colleague possible areas of cooperation between the three organizations. Mr. Lightinger pointed out the importance of BECCs’ experiences in public participation, sustainable development and studies of transboundary impact, that can be useful for CECs’ activities.
Mr. Miramontes emphasized the need to have more ample and comprehensive studies about economic, demographic, environmental and urban infrastructure perspectives in the border region in order to facilitate development planning of the environmental infrastructure projects, based on the real growth predicted for the border communities. "Otherwise…" Mr. Miramontes said, "…we are risking that our projects will be insufficient in a few years due to the accelerated growth and social demand of services".
Mr. Cabrera, BECC’s General Manager announced the creation of a Steering Group for the three institutions to follow up identified and proposed cooperation areas, mainly in exchange of information and experiences. The General Manager said that the cooperation between the three organizations "should consider each organization’s particular authorities, the need to avoid duplication of efforts and resources and respect the binational priorities assigned by Mexico and the United States to both BECC and NADB".
Water Resource Management Seminar Held in Hermosillo
A Water Resource Management Training Course, sponsored by the United States Environmental Training Institute (USETI), BECC and the government of Sonora, was held on January 28-30. Over 65 persons attended the seminar which was also supported by National Water Commission, representing 17 water operating systems; 14 from the State of Sonora and three from Baja California.
The Training Course is the third on water related issues sponsored by the BECC and USETI and was aimed at expanding awareness of available resources related to planning in water collection, treatment, and distribution; wastewater collection; wastewater treatment and treated effluent reuse. This Course should provide system managers with a complete understanding of the mechanisms made available by BECC, NADB, CNA, and BANOBRAS to support and finance their projects, specifically for those located along the border. Representatives from each of these institutions, and from the Sonora Government and the consulting firms Grupo Mexicano de Desarrollo and US Filter of Mexico made presentations in this course.
New Step I Project Formats Received
In accordance with Article I of the BECC’s Procedures Regarding Public Notice and Comment on Project Applications, the BECC has received a Step I Form for the following projects from October 1997 to January 1998. Please note that this listing does not represent any type of BECC staff recommendation concerning the potential for project certification.
Comprehensive Water and Sanitation Project for Agua Prieta, Sonora. The project consists of the zoning, rehabilitation, and expansion of the sewage system and sanitation of the municipal effluent. Estimated cost is U.S. $3 million. Contact: Vicente Teran Uribe, Mayor of Agua Prieta, H. Ayuntamiento de Agua Prieta, Calle 6, Ave. 16, No. 1600, Agua Prieta, Sonora 84200, Tel: (633) 8-17-23, Fax: (633) 8-01-79. Received December 5, 1997.
Tire Pulverizer for El Paso, Texas. Due to the continuous increase in the amount of tires that need to be recycled, tires must be shredded, have iron removed from the process, and also decrease size of the tire shreds. Estimated cost is U.S. $8 million. Contact: Blanca Vasquez, Deputy Director of Solid Waste Management, City of El Paso Solid Waste Management, 7969 San Paulo, El Paso, TX 79907, Tel: (915) 621-6892, Fax: (915) 621-6711. Received October 29, 1997.
Transfer Station for Municipal Solid Waste for El Paso, Texas. For over thirty years, the current City Transfer Station has operated to provide service to city residents. The station is now in urgent need of repair and/or total replacement. Estimated cost is U.S. $5 million dollars. Contact: Blanca Vasquez, Deputy Director of Solid Waste Management, City of El Paso Solid Waste Management, 7969 San Paulo, El Paso, TX 79907, Tel: (915) 621-6892, Fax: (915) 621-6711. Received November 5, 1997.
Expansion of the Water Treatment Plant in Westmorland, California. The project consists of upgrading the treatment plant to comply with allowable state and federal quality standards. Estimated cost is U.S. $3.2 million. Contact: Mr. Robert McKay, City Manager, PO Box 699, Westmorland, California, 92281, Tel: (760) 344-3411, fax: 344-5307. Received January 5, 1998.
Restoration of the Salton Sea Ecosystem in Imperial Valley, California. The project consists of evaluating the restoration and remedy actions of the Salton Sea basin ecosystem. The project coincides with efforts being carried out in Mexicali and its own water treatment. Estimated cost is U.S. $1 million. Contact: Mrs. Maria Matthews, Executive Director of Imperial County, 836 Main Street, El Centro, CA, 92243, Tel: (760) 337-7814, Fax: (760) 337-8907. Received January 5, 1998.
Comprehensive Sludge Management System for the North and South Wastewater Treatment Plants in Cd. Juarez. The project consists of developing actions and strategies for development of procedures and components required for implementation of adequate sludge management, conditioning, and stabilization. Cost has not been determined. Contact: Junta Municipal de Agua y Saneamiento, Pedro N. Garcia y Eje Vial Juan Gabriel, Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua, Tel: (16) 16-91-31, Fax: (16) 16-84-57. Received January 5, 1998.