U.S./Mexico Border

Contingency Planning

and Emergency Response

NRT/RRT Co-Chairs MeetingAlbuquerque, New Mexico

March 2003

Dan Meer, ChiefResponse, Planning and Assessment Branch

EPA Region 9 - San Francisco

Key Programs U.S./Mexico Joint Response Team Border 2012 Program Contingency Planning – Sister City Plans Joint Exercises Training Hazard Assessment HazMat and Emergency Response

Resources

Joint US/Mexico Inland Contingency Plan (JCP)

Key Responsibilities Policies Notifications Prevention and Planning Response Operations Binational Preparedness Training Exercises

U.S./Mexico Joint Inland Contingency Plan

Objectives Provide a bi-national coordination

mechanism Assure appropriate and effective

cooperative preparedness and response mechanisms between the U.S. and Mexico

Develop incident notification systems and protocols

U.S./Mexico Joint Inland Contingency Plan Key Aspects

Creates organizational structure for coordinating response efforts

Establishes Joint Response Team (JRT) and the Issue/Incident-Specific Joint Response Team (ISJRT).

Establishes notification procedures, response operations, roles and responsibilities of agencies

Recognizes that initial responsibility for incident response rests with local authorities.

BORDER 2012 PROGRAM GOALS

#1 Reduce water contamination#2 Reduce air pollution#3 Reduce land contamination#4 Reduce exposure, particularly

children’s exposure, to pesticides

#5 Reduce exposure to chemicals as a result of accidental chemical releases and/or acts of terrorism

Border 2012

Goal #5: Reduce exposure to chemicals as a result of accidental chemical release and/or deliberate acts of terrorism

Objective 1: By 2004, have chemical emergency advisory/notification mechanisms in place

Objective 2: By 2008, have all 14 sister cities joint contingency plans in place and operating (including exercises), including bi-national committees for chemical emergency prevention (or similar border forums).

Objective 3: By 2012, 50 percent of sister city joint contingency plans supplemented with preparedness and prevention related efforts, such as risk and consequence analysis, risk reduction, ct, etc.

Status of Sister City Plans

To date, ten (10) sister city plans have been developed.

Brownsville/Matamoros; Eagle Pass/Piedras Negras; Laredo/Nuevo Laredo; McAllen/Reynosa; Nogales/Nogales; San Luis/San Luis; Del Rio/Ciudad Acuna; Cochise County/Naco; Columbus/Ascension-Puerto Las Palomas; and Douglas/Agua Prieta.

Sister City Plans in Progress Sister cities

working to develop their contingency plans, include: City/County of San

Diego/Tijuana El Paso/Ciudad

Juarez Weslaco/Rio Bravo-

Progresso Norte Presidio/Ojinaga

Border Exercises

Two terrorism-related field exercises were held in Eagle Pass/Piedras Negras (Sept 02) and Mexicali/ Calexico (Dec 02).

Table-top exercise held in Santa Cruz County, CA and Nogales, Sonora.

In 2003/2004, bio-terrorism exercises scheduled for McAllen, Laredo, and El Paso, Texas and Cochise County/Naco, Sonora.

Contingency Planning and Emergency Response Training ICS/UC training held in Mexicali, Baja CA

and Brownsille, TX.

Hazardous Materials Awareness and Response course in Mexicali, Baja CA.

Hazardous materials workshop for first responders for 250 participants in Eagle Pass/Piedras Negras and Del Rio/Ciudad Acuna.

Field Operations Guide (FOG) course in Spanish for 150 participants in Brownsville/ Matamoros and Eagle Pass/Piedras Negras.

Conducting Hazards Assessment Hazardous Materials commodity flow

studies completed in the following sister cities:

Calexico, CA (February 2001); Eagle Pass, TX/Piedras Negras,

Coahuila (March 2002); San Diego, CA (June 2001); and Brownsville, TX/Matamoros,

Tamaulipas (April 2002). Commodity flow study for El Paso,

TX/Cuidad Juarez, Chihuahua should be completed in 2003.

Binational commitment and actions to prevent tire firesBinational commitment and actions to prevent tire fires

1. ID Pile Locations2. Characterize Piles3. Recommendations - Fire Prevention

- Response Planning4. Share Findings

Border Waste Tire Pile Project

Gaining emergency response resources

EPA assistance to sister cities in obtaining emergency response resources includes:

Hazmat Trailer stocked with decontamination equipment for the City of Calexico (used in recent Imperial County/Mexicali cross border exercise) and

Specialized hazardous material emergency response and environmental sampling van.

Annual border-wide activities of the U.S./Mexico border

program

Call-down notification exercises of the JCP notification procedures

Joint Response Team meetings

National Coordinators meeting as part of the requirements of the La Paz Agreement.

Additional Resources & Information

USEPA HQ Kim Jennings 202.564.7998

USEPA Region 6 Fendol Chiles 214.665.2283

USEPA Region 9 Lauren Volpini 415.972.3076

Updated information on the U.S./Mexico border program can be found on the CEPPO website at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/oswer/

ceppoweb.nsf/content/ip-bilateral.htm#mexicoborder