Environmental Issues in the Texas Portion of the U.S.-Mexico Border Area
The TCEQ has three regional offices along the border, as well as a Border Affairs team that focuses on cross-border, binational efforts and other activities related to environmental conditions in areas near the border.
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 2025 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 2025 Environmental Program
- Border 2025 Introduction
- EPA’s Border 2025 Web site
- EPA’s web site for the Texas-New Mexico-Chihuahua ("Three-State") Regional Workgroup
Texas-Tamaulipas-Nuevo León-Coahuila ("Four-State") Regional Workgroup
Information on Subject-Specific Programs and Projects
- Air Quality in Texas' Border Region
- Waste and Recycling in Texas' Border Region
- Emergency Response - Cross-Border Agreements
- TCEQ Border Initiative (activities of all TCEQ divisions)
- The TCEQ and Colonias
- Texas Relies on 1944 Treaty Water
- Other U.S.-Mexico Border Environmental References
Environmental Agreements with Neighboring Mexican States
Other Sites of Interest to the Border Region
- Good Neighbor Environmental Board
- 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
Organizations Created as a Result of the Environmental Side Agreement to NAFTA
- North American Development Bank
- North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC)
◊ The National Advisory Committee
◊ The Governmental Advisory Committee
For more information, contact TCEQ Border Affairs.