Environmental Issues in the U.S.-Mexico Border Area

In the border region, as in the rest of Texas, we work to improve the environment in a number of ways, including monitoring air and water quality and enforcing regulations and permits. Much of this is done through our regional offices in El Paso, Laredo, and Harlingen.

A summary of the special border activities of all our divisions is contained in the TCEQ Border Initiative.

Interacting with all the involved divisions, we have a dedicated Border Affairs team that supports TCEQ’s programs in the border region by working with multiple parties in Texas and Mexico. This team collaborates with local communities, environmental groups, industry, trade associations, and other agencies, and acts as Texas’ point group in the U.S.-Mexico Border 2020 Environmental Program, a partnership between federal, state, and local governments in the region.

Following are links to pages related to the binational Border 2020 program, other activities involving the TCEQ's Border Affairs team, additional activities of the TCEQ in the border region, and external sources of information on this region.

U.S.-Mexico Border 2020 Environmental Program

• Border 2020 Introduction
• EPA’s Border 2020 Web site
• Texas-Tamaulipas-Nuevo León-Coahuila ("Four-State") Regional Workgroup
• Four-State Calendar
• Amistad Task Force
• Falcon Task Force
• Gulf Task Force
• Cross-Border Agreements Related to Emergency Response
• Success Stories
• Accomplishments in 2007-2009
• Accomplishments in 2010-2011
• Water-related Infrastructure in the Four-State Region with Financing from the NADB

Other Activities Involving the TCEQ's Border Affairs Team

• Border Governors Conference
• Colonia Projects
• Special Projects
• Good Neighbor Environmental Board
• Joint Advisory Committee

Additional Activities of the TCEQ in the Border Region

• Air Quality in Texas' Border Region
• TCEQ Border Initiative (activities of all TCEQ divisions)

Other Information about and for the Border Region

• “Municipal Guide for Comprehensive Management of Electronic Waste in the Northeast of Mexico” (English) “Guia municipal de gestión integral de residues de aparatos eléctricos and electrónicos para el noreste de México” (español)
• La Paz Agreement (1983 Framework Agreement between the U.S. and Mexico on Environmental Topics)
• Binational Population Data in Sister Cities along the Rio Grande
• Border Energy website
• Border Tire Network

Organizations Created as a Result of the Environmental Side Agreement to NAFTA

• Border Environment Cooperation Commission
• North American Development Bank
• North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC)
  ◊ The National Advisory Committee
  ◊ The Governmental Advisory Committee
     (TCEQ Commissioner Carlos Rubinstein is a member of this committee)

 For more information, contact TCEQ Border Affairs.