EPA Collaboration with Mexico
National Coordinators Meeting
On September 10-11, 2024, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe and her counterpart in Mexico, Undersecretary Alonso Jiménez for the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), co-chaired the U.S. – Mexico Border 2025 Program’s National Coordinators Meeting in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC). The meeting celebrated 40 years of cooperation and achievements under the La Paz Agreement and included participation from state, local, and Indigenous and Tribal leaders as well as partners from along both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
The National Coordinators Meeting emphasized environmental and public health accomplishments, highlighted existing and emerging challenges and identified priorities to be addressed under the goals, objectives and guiding principles going forward. The discussion focused on the U.S. Administration’s priorities. In addition, discussions included measuring progress in the implementation of goals for the program and listening to the needs of the region.
This meeting continued efforts on Border 2025, the fifth strategic plan for border cooperation between U.S. and Mexico under the 1983 La Paz Agreement. Since the signing of the La Paz Agreement, the U.S. and Mexico has committed to join efforts to protect the environment and improve public health in the border region. Through the program, significant achievements and progress have been made in addressing pressing environmental problems in the U.S.-Mexico border region. The program emphasizes a regional and local community-level driven approach for decision making, priority setting, and project implementation to address the environmental and public health challenges in the border region.
- Press Release: EPA and SEMARNAT Reaffirm Shared Commitment to Improving Public Health and the Environment Along the U.S.-Mexicohttps://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-and-semarnat-reaffirm-shared-commitment-improving-public-health-and-environment Border
Statement of Intent
On August 18, 2022, EPA and CONAGUA participated in a signing ceremony on the Statement of Intent (SOI) to advance priority wastewater projects for the Tijuana and San Diego region. The SOI reflects agreements made between EPA and CONAGUA on planned capital investments aimed at reducing transboundary wastewater pollution in the Tijuana River, its tributaries, and the Pacific Ocean.
During the signing ceremony, the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) and its Mexican Counterpart, Comisión Internacional de Limites y Agua (CILA), announced Minute 328’s entry into force. A "Minute" is a binding obligation of the United States and Mexican Governments that includes the specific agreements for planning, construction, operation and maintenance of joint works and delineates the manner in which costs of the joint project will be shared. Minute 328 highlights a list of projects for implementation.
Border 2025
EPA works with our Mexican neighbors on the Border 2025: U.S.-Mexico Environmental Program, a collaboration between the United States and Mexico to improve the environment and protect the health of the 15 million people living along the border. The binational program focuses on improving air and water quality, promoting sustainable materials management and waste management, and improving joint preparedness for and response to environmental emergencies along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Border 2025 has identified four long-term goals with specific objectives to address the most serious environmental and environmentally-related public health challenges in the border region. Some objectives and sub-objectives targeted by these strategic goals are broad and are expected to serve as guidance in the development of action plans.
The goals are:
- Goal 1: Reduce Air Pollution
- Goal 2: Improve Water Quality
- Goal 3: Promote Sustainable Materials Management, Waste Management, and Clean Sites
- Goal 4: Joint Preparedness for and Response to Hazardous Environmental Emergencies
Explore our work:
- Border 2025 Program
- US-Mexico Border: Water Infrastructure Program
Additional Resources About Environment and the Mexico-U.S. Border
- International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC). The U.S. and Mexico have cooperated on their shared border environment for over one hundred years. Much of this cooperation took place under the auspices of the IBWC, a U.S.-Mexico international organization with a presence in both countries. The IBWC administers several large water cleanup projects, including those in Tijuana and Nuevo Laredo.
- North American Development Bank (NADB). The NADB is a binational institution that provides financing for environmental infrastructure projects along the US-Mexico border to improve the well-being of residents in the US and Mexico.
- SEMARNAT, Mexico's Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. SEMARNAT is EPA's federal counterpart in the U.S.-Mexico Environmental Program.