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Border 2020 Quarterly Newsletter
Region 9
California, Baja California, Arizona and Sonora
Spring 2013
www. epa. gov/border2 020
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This newsletter provides a summary of past quarter activities
General Updates
Border 2020 Request for Proposals (RFP) and Workshops: The first Border 2020 RFP was released on
June 17, 2013 and will close on July 31, 2013. As in past years, the RFP will be announced and managed by the
Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC), through a cooperative agreement with EPA. The RFP
will focus on projects that address priority objectives identified through a 2-Year Action Plan "gap analysis". In
Region 9, approximately $1M will be available for projects in Arizona-Sonora and California-Baja California.
Region 9 will work closely with the BECC, to identify the most qualified proposals by mid-August. RFP
workshops were convened in San Diego, California, Tijuana, Baja California, Nogales, Sonora and Rio Rico,
Arizona as well as one for the 26 Border Tribes. For additional information contact Lorena Lopez-Powers. 619-
235-4767.
Border 2020 Action Plans Are Now Complete: Since the National Coordinators Meeting in August of 2012,
2-Year Action Plans have been updated and refined. A "gap analysis" performed by EPA has identified priority
objectives, and Border Team Staff continue to coordinate with border partners to share information. The final
action plans are now available on the Border 2020 website and will be used to track ongoing efforts and identify
future needs and priorities along the U.S.-Mexico Border. For additional information contact Lorena Lopez-
Powers. 619-235-4767.
Border 2020 Program Kicks off Arizona/Sonora Task Force Workshop and Public Meetings: On February
27th, EPA and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (and Mexico partners) hosted a workshop for
the Border 2020 Task Force leaders on roles, expectations, and action planning efforts under the new Border
2020 binational program. On February 28th, the Air, Water, Waste & Enforcement Task Forces convened joint
public meetings to share information on the new Border 2020 Program and had breakout sessions to analyze the
Arizona/Sonora Action Plan and identify unmet needs and potential projects to fill those needs. Community
stakeholders had the opportunity to take part in the breakout sessions and comment on future priorities and
needs. For additional information contact Lorena Lopez-Powers. 619-235-4767.
Border 2020 Webinar for Border Tribes: On March 14 the Border and Tribal Programs and the Native
American Environmental Protection Coalition (NAEPC) held a webinar for Arizona and California Border
Tribes. The webinar provided information on the new Border 2020 Program, the Biennial Action Plans,
anticipated budget, and future project development. Approximately 15 Border tribes participated; discussion
items ranged from types of Border 2020 priorities to budget uncertainties, to tribal project needs. For additional
information, contact: Willard Chin. 415-972-3797.
New Border 2020 Listserver to Enhance Communication: A new electronic communication provider
(Constant Contact) has been secured to assist with electronic communication to over 8,000 Border 2020 e-mail
subscribers. An introductory e-mail was sent to the existing subscribers asking that they update their

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preferences. The communication points of contact are: Patrick Huber (Office of International and Tribal
Affairs); Maria Sisneros (Region 6); and, Alheli Banos-Keener (Region 9).
Goal Updates
Goal 1 - Reduce Air Pollution
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Completes the Retrofit of 123 School Buses: Under a grant
from EPA, ADEQ recently completed retrofits of 123 school busses with diesel oxidation catalysts or diesel
particulate filters in Maricopa, Pima, and Yuma Counties. The estimated lifetime emission reductions are 2.95
tons of particulate matter, 9.89 tons of hydrocarbon, and 39.3 tons of carbon monoxide. For additional
information contactDaveFege, 619-235-4769.
White Paper Released: Health Impacts of Crossings at U.S.-Mexico Land Ports of Entry: Gaps, Needs
and Recommendations for Action: This recently released white paper is a product of the Health Impacts of
Border Crossings Conference, held on May 3-4, 2012, in San Ysidro, California. Sponsored by the Southwest
Consortium for Environmental Research and Policy (SCERP) through a cooperative agreement with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, this white paper identifies potential health effects of U.S.-Mexico border
land ports of entry, especially regarding exposures to traffic emissions associated with the crossings. For
additional information contact DaveFege, 619-235-4769.
Goal 2 -1 mprove Access to Clean and Safe Water
Mexico Border Water Infrastructure: On April 30, 2013, the BECC-NADB Board certified a wastewater
collection system expansion project in Sierra Vista, AZ, that will serve a subdivision with failing on-site
systems. The $4 million project will benefit 374 residents and eliminate discharges of inadequately treated
sewage. This project now has the approved funding to initiate construction. For additional information, contact:
SuCox at 415-972-3555.
Border Stormwater Management Workshop: On, March 14, 2013, over 60 stakeholders from private
industry and local, state, and federal governments on both sides of the Arizona-Sonora border participated in a
Border 2020-sponsored stormwater workshop held in Rio Rico on March 14, 2013. ADEQ staff planned the
workshop in an effort to improve stormwater management in both Arizona and Sonora. The city of Nogales,
Sonora has over 100 industrial outfalls, which discharge into the Santa Cruz River Watershed, thereby
impacting water quality in both countries. For additional information contact Doug Li den. 619-235-4763.
Tijuana Watershed Sediment Model: On April 1, 2013, the Border Environment Cooperation Commission
signed a technical assistance agreement with the University of Arizona to use $25,000 of Border 2020 funds to
create a contemporary (2011) digital land cover classification for the Tijuana River Watershed. These digital
maps are the first step towards the development of the sediment model that will be funded through a 2012
Regional Applied Research Effort (RARE) grant. This model will allow urban planners in Mexico and the U.S.
to determine the impacts of various types of land-use practices and sediment control BMPs on the generation of
sediment that impairs the Tijuana River and Estuary. For additional information contact Doug Li den. 619-235-
4763.
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Goal 3 -Promoting Materials and Waste Management and Clean Sites
Border 2020-Funded Tijuana Urban Compost Center Promotes
Zero Waste Practices: As a follow up to the successful launch of
Tijuana's first composting center, the project sponsor, Tijuana Calidad
de Vida (TCV), is promoting efforts to incorporate more composting
and zero waste practices into the municipality's operations. As such,
TCV recently facilitated a visit for the solid waste management
company operating in Tijuana (GEN/PASA), along with the Miramar
Greenery (San Diego's composting center). TCV showcased the
center's composting work at the Biocycle Conference held March 2013
in San Diego. TCV is also planning a compost forum in July 2013 that
will include GEN, and many other stakeholders. EPA, BECC and the
U.S. Consulate Office in Tijuana are sponsoring this event. There are no regulatory standards explicit to the
composting operations in Mexico, but the center has used composting guidance provided by SEMARNAT and
applicable municipal requirements which are reflected in the work plan and TCV's Quality Assurance Plan
(QAP). For additional information contact Emily Pimenteh 415-972-3326.
in Materials Management Goal. Fundacion la Puerta, a community
non-profit organization in Tecate, Baja California, in association with
"Comite de Mujeres Lluvias del Sur" have accomplished their Border
2012 project to promote materials management and sustainability.
Key accomplishments under this project include five trash cleanups
involving 1350 participants (ranging from 130 to 300 volunteers per
event). The cleanups resulted in the collection of 52,250 lbs of trash
and 16,000 lbs of scrap tires. The cleanups were an important
component to promote awareness of the adverse impacts that trash
and solid waste pose in the community, (including urban blight and
flood hazards). While the community had performed cleanups before,
this project served to heighten awareness and interest in taking
community action, especially since illegal dumping of trash, tires, and construction debris in the river plain
continues to be a problem. The community also used this project to promote zero waste practices, including the
collection of 21,500 lbs of paper and 15,100 lbs of plastic surpassing their goal of 11,000 lbs of paper and 8,800
lbs of plastic (PET).
The community also created vegetable gardens at five schools (reaching 680 students) and a community garden
on the embankment of the Tecate River. The gardens produced 15 types of vegetables and fruits, resulting in a
harvest of 1,040 lbs of food. Fundacion la Puerta's non-profit lent their expertise in operating the organic
garden and provided training to the community on creating compost. Overall the accomplishments under this
grant were remarkable. For additional information contact Emily Pimentek 415-972-3326.
Strengthening Community Capacity to Manage Solid Waste:
Wildcoast, a San Diego non-profit, recently kicked off a new effort to
reduce trash in Los Laurels Canyon through a Border 2020 project, in
partnership with three local elementary schools and ECOCE, a
national educational non-governmental organization that will install
three "supersacs" as temporary recycling for plastic bottles. The Los
Laureles Canyon area is an important binational area, as it drains
directly into the Tijuana River Estuary in San Diego. For additional
information contact Emily Pimenteh 415-972-3326.
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Tecate Community Makes Big Leap

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Goal 4 - Emergency Preparedness and Response
A binational table top exercise was held March 19-20 in Nogales, AZ, focused on the working relationships that
must exist along the border between Arizona and Sonora when joint response is necessary. Approximately 35
agencies and over 100 participated from the United States and Mexico as players and observers in this mock
exercise. On Monday, March 18, a Traffic Incident Management Training Session was held in Nogales, Sonora,
Mexico through the joint collaboration of the Federal Highway Administration, the Border 2020 Program,
Arizona Department of Public Safety, and Arizona Department of Transportation. Over 200 first responders
from Mexican local and state agencies participated in the workshop. For additional information contact Li da
Tan, 415-972-3018.
Goal 5 - Enhance Compliance Assurance and Environmental Stewardship
Preparations Underway for Border 2020 Environmental Enforcement Webinar and Workshop in June
EPA, in collaboration with Mexico's environmental and enforcement agency, SEMARNAT/PROFEPA and
BECC are organizing an Environmental Enforcement Workshop on June 13-14 in San Diego. The goal of this
workshop is to improve enforcement through better case development and intelligence-led enforcement tools.
The first day will focus on legal frameworks and case development, and will be broadcast via webinar for
registered participants. Day two will focus on mechanisms to share binational intelligence and information and
will explore a possible binational pilot project to focus on mutual areas of interest and improve communication
and use of intelligence sharing tools. Air, water, waste, and wildlife topics will be addressed. EPA expects
participants from the BECC, EPA, SEMARNAT/PROFEPA, U.S. Customs, Arizona Department of
Environmental Quality, California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Baja California's environmental
agency (SPA), and Sonora's environmental agency (CEDES), Environment Canada, and others. For additional
information contact Emily Pimentel. 415-972-3326 or Joel Jones. 415-972-3449.
Environmental Health
Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) Doctors Provide Training to the Imperial
Valley: The San Diego Border Office Staff and R9 Children's Health Program partnered to host two very
successful binational Pediatric Environmental Health trainings in El Centro, CA on February 6th and 7th. The
trainings reached approximately 130 childcare providers, community health workers, school nurses, Mexican
officials, and high school students with information about how to reduce children's exposures to environmental
contaminants in schools, childcare facilities, homes, and neighborhoods. The trainings were conducted by
Doctors funded by the PEHSU's at U.C. San Francisco and U.C. Irvine, (funded by EPA and ATSDR), and
Doctors from U.C. Berkeley's Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health, (funded by EPA and
NIEHS). The training logistics were supported by the Border 2012 Program and HQ's Office of Children's
Health Protection (Clean, Green, and Healthy Schools Initiative). Participants overwhelmingly evaluated the
training quality as "excellent." For more information contact Kathleen Stewart. 415-947-4119 or Alheli Banos-
Keener. 619-235-4767.
Border 2020 Engages Arizona Health Officials: As part of Border 2020's engagement with the U.S. Mexico
Border Health Commission (USMBHC), border office staff met with Robert Guerrero, Chief of the Border
Health Office for the Arizona Department of Health Services, and with Emma Torres, Director of Campesions
Sin Fronteras and Commissioner with the USMBHC to identify priority border health issues and collaboration
opportunities. The Border 2020 Program has stepped up its engagement with the BHC to fulfill its
environmental health strategies and will begin identifying focus areas of collaboration and begin drafting
concept papers to leverage resources toward common focus areas. For more information contact Alheli Banos-
Keener. 619-235-4767.
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Valley Fever Concerns in Imperial Valley: Imperial Valley EJ and Enforcement Task Force participants have
continued to express concerns about Valley Fever have increased with recent reports of outbreaks in California.
Border Office staff has communicated with relevant agencies, including San Diego County, Imperial County
Health Department, Arizona Department of Health Services, California Department of Public Health and the
U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission, to identify possible agencies that can provide assistance on this issue.
For more information contact Alheli Banos-Keener. 619-235-4767.
Border 2012/2020 Project Update: Transitioning to Reduced-Risk Cotton Pest Management Practices in
the Mexicali Region: The purpose of this project is to pilot less-toxic pest management practices in agricultural
communities along the border (a prior Border 2012 objective). Using Border 2012 funding, the University of
Arizona Pest Management Center (AZPMC) is working with growers from Mexicali to implement reduced-risk
approaches to pest management in cotton. AZMPC is using an integrated pest management model that has been
successfully deployed throughout Arizona to reduce the amount of broadly toxic pyrethroids, organophosphates,
carbamates and endosulfan that are used to produce cotton in this border region. Key pests include pink
bollworm, whiteflies and lygus bugs. Project leaders are conducting workshops and field demonstrations for
growers, pest control advisors and related government officials that focus on the biology, ecology, and
management of these three principal pests, as well as reduced-risk options for each. A database has been
developed to assess scouting and pesticide use trends by participating Mexican cotton cooperatives. Data from
2010-2011 is being entered to establish a baseline of practices that can be compared to 2012, when methods to
reduce the reliance on broadly toxic pyrethroids and organophosphates were demonstrated to Mexican growers.
An important goal of the program is to improve conservation of non-target beneficial arthropods using these
reduced-risk practices. The project began on May 1, 2012, and extensive progress has been made since that
time. Numerous presentations have been made on the U.S. side of the border, and Mexican stakeholders have
been present at most sessions. Project leaders are working on a natural-enemies pocketbook that includes
photographs for use in the field to identify beneficial versus harmful insects. For additional information contact
Mary Grisier. 415-947-4213.
Border 2012 Project Update: Arizona Border School Chemical Inventory/Cleanout Project: The Arizona
Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has been leading this Border 2012 Project, aimed at eliminating
unwanted chemicals from schools and keeping them at bay through the development of a Chemical
Management Plan. ADEQ has just completed this project, with the successful cleanup of 11 schools in the
Nogales School District and disposal of radioactive waste from one of the schools. For additional information
contact Alheli Banos-Keener. 619-235-4767.
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