WASHINGTON – Today, July 18, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT, acronym in Spanish), released the Border 2025 mid-term Highlights Report. This report highlights the 2021-2023 accomplishments within border communities through the Border 2025 program.
“EPA is proud to work closely and productively with the Government of Mexico and State and local leaders to improve public health along the U.S. – Mexico border,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “This report highlights the investments of the Biden Administration, and the commitment of State and local governments to improve conditions for the border communities, particularly underserved and disadvantaged communities.”
The Highlights Report summarizes projects addressing the goals in the Border 2025 framework document. The four goals include reducing air pollution; improving water quality; promoting sustainable materials management, waste management, and clean sites; enhancing joint emergency preparedness for and response to hazardous chemicals. The report also conveys the commitment to promote the Border 2025 guiding principles, including the priorities of our two nations: environmental equity and climate for the U.S. and engaging the indigenous communities in Mexico.
In this highlights report, over 50 projects address the challenging environmental and health issues border communities face and include air quality in Mexicali, Baja California and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua; water reuse in Tribal Lands, binational trainings/workshops in Sonora and Arizona, water and wastewater improvements through the use of Border Environment Infrastructure Funds; capacity building efforts, such as webinars for waste-related issues, and training exercises for emergency preparedness and response; and environmental health and environmental justice efforts.
Border 2025 is a U.S.-Mexico environmental program that protects the environment and public health for communities along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border including the 10 states (four in the U.S. and six in Mexico), 27 federally recognized tribes in the U.S. and seven indigenous and afro-Mexican communities in Mexico. The Border 2025 Program continues to be a model of cooperation and collaboration between neighboring nations with a continued goal of achieving tangible, on-the-ground, environmental and public health results to improve the quality of life for US-Mexico border communities.
For more information, please visit EPA’s U.S.-Mexico Border Program webpage.