U.S.-Mexico Border

Despite binational, federal, state, and local efforts, communities along both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border continue to face environmental infrastructure problems. According to a 1999 assessment, 12 percent of the border population lack access to potable water, 30 percent lack access to wastewater treatment facilities, and 25 percent lack access to solid waste disposal facilities. An estimated $3.2 billion is needed to correct these infrastructure deficiencies on both sides of the border; about 77 percent of this amount is needed for wastewater treatment. Since 1994, the United State and Mexico have provided about $3.1 billion to address border environmental infrastructure needs. The United States has contributed about 80 percent of this amount. Many barriers exist to overcoming the environmental infrastructure problems of border communities, key among them the lack of human capital to plan, implement, and maintain environmental infrastructure and the limited ability of communities to obtain affordable financing to build needed projects. The Border Environmental Cooperation Commission and the North American Development Bank were created to address these impediments. However, these organization's roles, particularly the Bank's, are likely to continue to be limited unless there are changes in its loan rates, which have been unattractive or unaffordable for many border communities. Moreover, binational efforts to deal with communities' needs are hampered by a lack of a strategic plan that addresses impediments. Given the current infrastructure needs and the expected population growth, infrastructure improvements along the border are likely to be limited unless some of the key impediments are addressed.

GAO noted that: (1) despite binational, federal, state, and local efforts, communities along both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border continue to face environmental infrastructure problems; (2) according to a binational assessment completed in 1999, 12 percent of the border population did not have access to potable water, 30 percent lacked access to wastewater treatment facilities, and 25 percent needed access to solid waste disposal facilities; (3) it estimated that $3.2 billion is needed to correct existing water, wastewater, and solid waste infrastructure shortfalls on both sides of the border and that about 77 percent of this amount is needed for wastewater treatment; (4) most incorporated communities on the U.S. side of the border have environmental infrastructure in place, however, in some communities, it is inadequate and in need of upgrading or expansion; (5) small, unincorporated U.S. border communities such as colonias settlements, generally lack access to potable water and wastewater treatment; (6) on the Mexican side of the border, the problems are more acute, where only 34 percent of wastewater is treated; (7) in a few areas, raw or insufficiently treated wastewater eventually flows into drinking water sources that are shared by both countries; (8) since 1994, the United States and Mexico have provided approximately $3.1 billion to address border environmental infrastructure needs; (9) the United States has contributed nearly 80 percent of this amount; (10) the leading source of U.S. funding has been the Environmental Protection Agency; (11) during this same time period, Mexico has contributed $648 million of the funding provided to address border environmental infrastructure needs; (12) there are numerous impediments to meeting the environmental infrastructure needs of border communities; (13) key among them is the lack of human capital to plan, implement, and maintain environmental infrastructure and the limited ability of communities to obtain affordable financing for the construction of needed projects; (14) the Border Environment Cooperation Commission and the North American Development Bank were created to address these impediments; (15) these organizations' roles are likely to continue to be limited unless there are changes in its loan rates; (16) binational efforts to address communities' needs are hampered by a lack of a strategic plan; and (17) given the existing infrastructure needs and the expected population growth, environmental infrastructure improvements on the border are likely to be limited unless some of the key impediments are addressed.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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