2000 Annual Report: Border Initiatives

Since mid-1997, Board staff has been assisting the Office of the Secretary for Environmental Protection in addressing sensitive environmental impacts in the California-Mexico border region, and building working relationships with environmental/education agencies and institutions in Mexico and U.S. Border States. Direct Board staff involvement has led to improved relations with Mexico. These working relationships have fostered strong cross-border cooperative initiatives beneficial to public health and environmental quality within this complex region.

Border environmental program accomplishments resulting from direct Board staff involvement are listed below.

The Border Environment Program and the Border Affairs Unit. The Border Environment Program was created on July 1,2000 by the 2000-2001 State Budget Act. The program is led by the Cal/EPA Border Affairs Unit, which is overseen by the Assistant Secretary for Border Affairs for Cal/EPA. Board staff plays a key role as part of the Border Affairs Unit.

Assembly Bill 2317 (Ducheny, Chapter 742, Statutes of 2000). This bill created the California Border Environmental and Public Health Fund that became effective on September 27, 2000. This bill goes hand in hand with the goals of the Border Environmental Program by authorizing State agencies to fund the Border Program through the Office of the Secretary for Environmental Protection.

Train-the-Trainer Program for K-12 Border Teachers. This program, which started in 1998, consists of an environmental education partnership between Cal/EPA and the Secretariat of Education for Baja California. The Board has been serving as the lead agency for this project. Two hundred and eighty Mexican teachers were trained using the Board’s integrated waste management curriculum known as Closing the Loop.

Landfill Siting for the City of Tijuana. The Tijuana Landfill will reach capacity by the year 2002. Since March of this year and at the request of the Mayor of Tijuana, Board staff has been providing technical assistance to the City of Tijuana in its efforts to site a new landfill.

California-Mexico Waste Tire Hauling. On March 6, 2000, Board staff initiated a formal discussion with Mexican used tire haulers to address cross-border concerns regarding existing/proposed California regulatory requirements that impact their mode of operation.

Other Cross-border Board Staff Efforts. Since January of 2000, Board staff, along with the Office of the Secretary for Environmental Protection and the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) have been leading an effort to assist the City of Tijuana in developing a pilot smog check program. Some of the issues presently being addressed as part of this effort include the location of referee stations in the City of Tijuana, formal training for City of Tijuana technicians, and loaning BAR 90/BAR 97 equipment for the initial assessment of smog emissions generated by City of Tijuana vehicles.

Additional information on the Border Program is available at http://bep.calepa.ca.gov.