Border 2012 Gulf Task Force
| Recent and Upcoming Local Special Events | ◊ Workshop on Drought Emergency Planning in Brownsville (Jun. 14)  ◊ New McAllen Ordinance Requires Use of Compostable Bags for Brush Collection ◊ Calendar of Events and Meetings |
The Gulf Task Force is one of three sub-regional groups in the Four-State Regional Workgroup in the U.S.-Mexico Border 2012 Environmental Program, 
which is a partnership among the U.S. EPA, Mexico’s SEMARNAT (the counterpart to EPA), the ten border states in the two countries, and U .S. border tribes. The Gulf Task Force covers Cameron, Hidalgo, Willacy, and Starr Counties in Texas and the Municipios of Matamoros, Valle Hermosa, Reynosa, Miguel Alemán, Camargo, and Rio Bravo in Tamaulipas.
Gulf Task Force Co-Leaders
Texas |
Tamaulipas |
|
John Wood |
Lic. Juan Diego Guajardo Anzaldúa Presidente Municipal, Río Bravo, Tamaulipas |
Committees of the Gulf Task Force
The Gulf Task Force has the following six subject-specific committees. Each committee has a U.S. co-facilitator and a Mexican co-facilitator.
| Committee | U.S. Co-Facilitator(s) | Mexican Co-Facilitator |
|---|---|---|
| Water Committee | Javier Santiago, City of McAllen | Ing. Oscar Gutierrez Santana, National Water Commission (CONAGUA) |
| Air Committee | Anjanette Jackson, TCEQ | M.C. Julio César Gómez Hernández, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas |
| Waste Committee | Joe Hinojosa, Environmental Services Dept., City of Brownsville |
Mauricio Chalons, Ecology Department, Municipio of Reynosa |
| Environmental Education | Genny Carrillo, MD, Texas A&M Health Science Center, School of Rural Public Helath, South Texas Center, McAllen Beatriz Tapia, MD, University of Texas Health Science Center, Regional Academic Health Center, Harlingen |
Alfredo Hassanille, Asociación de Maquiladoras de Matamoros, Tamaulipas Nelly Lopez, Centro de Bachillerito Tecnológico Industrial y de Servicios, Río Bravo, Tamaulipas |
| Environmental Health | Eddie Olivarez, Health Dept., Hidalgo County |
MVZ Raul Terrazas Barraza, Health Dept., Tamaulipas |
| Emergency Preparedness | Ricardo Saldaña, Fire Dept., City of Mission |
Ing. Manuel Montiel, Matamoros Maquiladora Association |
The Gulf Task Force committees have met periodically, established their priorities related to the goals and objectives of the Border 2012 Program, and developed projects to address those priorities.
The Gulf Task Force has compiled reports on the major accomplishments of activities launched or completed in the area between October 2010 and September 2011. There is an Accomplishments Report for the U.S. side of the border (in English), and another Accomplishments Report for the Mexican side of the border (in Spanish/español).
Check the Four-State Calendar for any upcoming meetings of the task force or its committees.
Two Organizations from the Lower Grande Valley Win Statewide Awards
Two of the winners of the TCEQ's Environmental Excellence Awards in 2011 are from the Gulf Task Force area.
The winner in the "Civic/Community" category is the Valley Proud Environmental Council (see the video). 
The winner in the "Agriculture" category is the Harlingen Irrigation District (see the video).
