Border to Border
Transportation Conference 2007
April 2007
BECC Overview
•Our Mission
•Mandated Scope
•Certification Criteria
•Comprehensive Project Cycle
•Expertise and Services
Our Mission
BECC works to preserve, protect and
enhance human health and the
environment of the U.S. - Mexico
border region, by strengthening
cooperation among interested parties
and supporting sustainable projects
through a transparent binational
process in close coordination with the
NADB, federal, state and local
agencies, the private sector, and civil
society.
Mandated Scope
Environmental Infrastructure Project: A project that will “prevent, control
or reduce environmental pollutants or contaminants, improve the drinking
water supply, or protect flora and fauna so as to improve human health,
promote sustainable development, or contribute to a higher quality of life”
Core Sector
New Sector
Drinking Water Infrastructure
Air Quality
Wastewater Infrastructure
Clean and Efficient Energy
Solid Waste Management
Water Management
Landfill Construction
Remediation Projects
Recycling and Waste Reduction
Public Transportation
Industrial and Hazardous Waste
Planning and Municipal Development
Closure / Rehabilitation of Landfill or
Open Air Dumpsites
A project must be located in the US-Mexico border region defined as…
100 km north and 300 km south of the international border
between the US and Mexico.
Projects located outside the border region which remedy a transboundary
environmental or health problem may be addressed upon approval of the Board.
BECC’s Certification Criteria
Criterion Name
Intent of the Criterion
1. GENERAL
Determines eligibility and defines the project scope and work tasks.
2. HUMAN HEALTH
& ENVIRONMENT
Addresses human health and environmental needs and reviews and verify
compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations.
3. TECHNCIAL
FEASIBILITY
Projects that are consistent with appropriate technologies, operation and
maintenance manuals, and industry design standards to meet current and
future needs. Seeks appropriate, proven and non-polluting technology, with
low operation and maintenance costs.
4. FINANICAL
FEASIBILITY
To provide the information required to assess the financial feasibility, project
management, and sustainability required to achieve financing approval
through the BECC/NADB. Viable financial structure with limited impact on user
fees and balance in sources of funding.
5. PUBLIC
PARTICIPATION
Provide the community an opportunity to comment based on understanding
the benefits and impacts of the project and to achieve the community’s
commitment with the development of the project.
6. SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
Consider and implement, to the extent possible, sustainable development
principles throughout the development of projects. 14 minimum requirements
and green building practices.
BECC/NADB Comprehensive Project Cycle
Regional
Planning
Planning &
Environmental
Assessment
Rapid
Assessment
Project
Application
Scopes
of Work
Final
Design
Public
Participation
& Financial Feasibility
Project Development
Project
Implementation
Close-Out
Facility
Operations
Certification
and Financing
Expertise and Services
Strengthening Institutional Capacity. BECC’s close coordination with
utilities along the US/Mexico border has provided an opportunity to induce
institutional capacity building throughout the project development process.
Technical Services. A specialized project development team which
includes experts in project management, engineering, public participation,
quality control and contract management is assigned to each project. This
multi-disciplinary group has the experience to help a project with a wide
range of needs. These no-cost services include:
•Project Scoping
•Project Coordination with funding and
regulatory agencies.
•Procurement Services
•Bi-National Coordination
•Strategic Planning including efforts with
each of the 10 states.
•Technical Reviews
•Public Participation Guidance
•Reference Resource
Technical Assistance. To aid project sponsors, BECC has a limited
amount of money available from its operations budget to support activities
required to achieve project development and certification. The tasks for
which BECC can provide these funds include:
•Environmental Impact Studies
•Technical, Economic and Financial
Feasibility Studies
•Preliminary and Final Design
•Community Participation Programs
•O&M Programs and Institutional
Strengthening
•Evaluations of Sustainability Issues
Border Accomplishments
•BECC in a Nutshell
•Technical Assistance
•Certified Projects
•Paving Projects
•Highway and Bridges Projects
•Smartway
BECC in a Nutshell
118 CERTIFIED
PROJECTS
$2.69 Billion
YEARS
10
0
132 CITIZEN’S
COMMITTES
65 PROJECTS
IN THE PIPELINE
$1.28 Billion
100
50
132 TECH
ASSISTANCE
PACKAGES
$33.62 Million
130
ACTIONS
BECC Pipeline includes: 22 W/WW BEIF Projects; 7 W/WW Non-BEIF
Projects; 15 Solid Waste Projects; and 21 New Sector Projects
Supporting Border Communities – Technical
Assistance
California
$ 1.9M
Arizona
$ 3.39M
New Mexico
$ 3.28M
Texas
$ 11.48M
71 US Communities
$ 20.05M
59 Mexico Communities
$ 8.67M
Baja
California
$ 1.56M
Sonora
$ 2.38M
Chihuahua
$ 1.95M
Coahuila
$ 0.79M
Nuevo Leon
$ 0.09M
Tamaulipas
$ 1.90M
$28.72M
Total PDAP + other BECC Technical Assistance: $33.62M
Total PDAP Technical Assistance:
Certified Projects
118 Projects to date.
California
Arizona
New Mexico
$ 182 mil.
$ 145 mil.
$ 57 mil.
11 projs.
12 projs.
Texas
8 projs.
340projs.
$ 666 mil.
69 in the US
$ 1.08 bill.
46 in Mexico
$ 1.61 bill.
Baja California
11projs.
$ 734 mil.
Sonora
14 projs.
$ 111 mil.
Chihuahua
7 projs.
$ 210 mil.
Coahuila
Nuevo Leon Tamaulipas
3 projs.
$ 157 mil.
Total estimated investment -- $2.69 bill.
Benefiting over 13 million border residents
2 proj.
$ 67 mil.
6 projs.
$ 336 mil.
Paving Projects in Mexico
Proyectos
Promotor
Costo
Total
MDD
Población
Beneficiada
Status
Proyecto de
Pavimentación en Agua
Prieta, Sonora
Municipio
de Agua
Prieta
17.00
78,236
Certificado
Proyecto de
Pavimentación en Ciudad
Juárez, Chihuahua
Municipio
de Ciudad
Juárez
44.46
1,217,818
Certificado
Proyecto de
Pavimentación en el
Estado de Baja California
Estado de
Baja
California
487.00
2,500,000
Certificado
Proyecto de
Pavimentación en Nogales,
Sonora
Municipio
de Nogales
10.57
190,057
Certificado
Proyecto de
Pavimentación en San
Luis Río Colorado, Sonora
Municipio
de SLRC,
Sonora
10.92
170,413
Certificado
Proyecto de
Pavimentación en
Sonoyta, Sonora
Municipio
de Sonoyta
2.18
17,000
Certificado
Paving Projects in Mexico
Proyectos de Mejoramiento
de la Calidad del Aire
Promotor
Costo
Total
MDD
Población
Beneficiada
Status
Proyecto de
Pavimentación en
Reynosa, Tamaulipas
Municipio
de Reynosa
60.35
420,463
Certificado
Proyecto de
Pavimentación en
Tijuana, Baja California
Municipio
de Tijuana
27.43
1,310,000
Certificado
Proyecto de
Pavimentación en
Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila
Municipio
de Acuña
10.00
115,000
Proyecto de
Pavimentación en Naco,
Sonora
Municipio
de Naco
1.18
6,108
671.09
6,025,095
TOTAL
En Desarrollo
En Solicitud
Highway and Bridge Projects in US-Mexico
Proyectos de Mejoramiento
de la Calidad del Aire
Promotor
Costo
Total
MDD
Población
Beneficiada
Status
Sistema vial
metropolitano playas de
Rosarito, BC
Municipio de
Rosarito
42.60
8,652
En Desarrollo
Puente Internacional
Brownsville- Matamoros
Ciudades de
BrownsvilleMatamoros
39.00
363,236
En Desarrollo
Puente Internacional
Donna- Río Bravo
Ciudades de
Donna-Rio
Bravo
40.10
19,000
En Desarrollo
Puente Internacional
Sullivan- Díaz Ordaz
Ciudades de
SullivanDiaz Ordaz
220.00
3,998
En Solicitud
341.70
394,886
TOTAL
SMARTWAY
EPA’s SmartWay Transport Partnership is a collaborative, publicprivate program between EPA and the freight industry (truck and
rail) that will increase the energy efficiency and security in the U.S.
while significantly reducing air pollution and greenhouse gases.
The Partnership is voluntary and creates strong market based
incentives that challenge companies shipping products (“shippers)
and the truck and rail companies delivering these products
(“carriers”), to improve the environmental and energy performance
of their freight operations. To date, the Partnership has almost 500
partners including some of the largest companies in the country
(Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Coca-Cola, J.B. Hunt, Schneider, Swift).
SMARTWAY
One area that the SmartWay program has not yet addressed is
border truck activity. Air quality and increased traffic is a
growing problem at the U.S.-Mexico Border. Since the
implementation of the North America Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA), the number of commercial vehicles crossing the
border has increased by 40 percent. Each year approximately
90 million cars and 4.3 million trucks cross into the U.S. from
Mexico. This volume of traffic can result in lengthy delays at
ports of entry, which wastes fuel and increases vehicle
emissions. From a public health perspective, emissions from
older diesel trucks are of particular concern.
SMARTWAY
EPA’s SmartWay Transport Partnership has begun exploring ways to
reduce emissions and conserve fuel from border trucks. This
approach involves identifying shipping companies that arrange to
send goods across the border (northbound) and the trucking
companies that actually carry the goods across the border.
Traditionally, the SmartWay program recruits shipping companies
into the program through a partnership agreement, and shippers
agree to ship 50% or more of their goods with trucking companies
that meet SmartWay’s truck goals (trucking companies are also
recruited separately). SmartWay truck goals involve adopting
technologies that have been proven to conserve fuel and reduce
emissions, such as: idle reduction, trailer aerodynamics, widebased tires, and exhaust after-treatment devices (e.g., particulate
matter filter). However, these technologies are more effective for
long haul trucking operations. Border (or drayage) trucks typically
operate on shorter routes and lower speeds, and may not benefit
from idle control and trailer aerodynamics.
SMARTWAY
Due to the complicated nature of border truck crossings, a
combination of technologies and strategies is necessary to reduce
emissions from border fleet operations. EPA is interested in
exploring the feasibility of the following approaches to comprise the
SmartWay Border Truck Upgrade Kit.
Technology Solutions
•Aluminum Wheels for Single Wide Tires, low-rolling resistance tires,
or upgrade to radial tires if using older polyester tires.
•Low-viscosity lubricants in rear chassis axle, transmission, and lowviscosity crankcase oil.
•Larger Capacity Trailers - Double and Triples.
•Diesel particulate matter filter and ultra low sulfur diesel
•**Retrofit or replacement of older engines (pre MY 1990)
We believe that the single, most effective strategy for reducing
emissions from border trucks is to provide a financial incentive for
the truck owner to scrap their pre-1990 truck and buy a used truck
between 1994-present. For example, a used model year 2000 truck
costs $40 K in the U.S. We believe an appropriate financial
incentive would be a loan or grant to cover at least 50% of the
purchase price of a newer, used truck.
SMARTWAY
Strategy Solutions
•Participate in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Free
and Secure Trade (FAST) Program.
•Use of eManifests and transponders to streamline Customs
paperwork submissions
•Reduce empty truck crossings
•Shift to intermodal operations
•Engine maintenance program
•Operate during off-peak hours, when possible
Incentive Opportunities
Trucking companies that implement of SmartWay
technologies and strategies identified above will accrue a
benefit based on fuel savings. However, the initial cost
expenditure for some of the technologies and strategies
ranges from $10,000-$20,000 per truck. As is often the case,
many trucking companies committed to border activity lack
the capital to purchase and/or participate in the technologies
and strategies.
SMARTWAY
We are exploring innovative, market-based and sustainable
means to allow trucking companies to purchase SmartWay. In
the U.S., we are working with banks and other financial
institutions to offer zero-interest, low-interest, and revolving loan
accounts for truck owners interested in purchasing SmartWay
technologies. For Mexican based fleets, we are looking for the
certification by BECC in order to have access to the loan
program managed by the North American Development Bank as a
means to assist Mexican based companies with their
participation in the SmartWay program. We are committed to
recruiting Mexican based shipping companies (exporters to U.S.),
and when these Mexican shipping companies join and commit to
shipping 50% or more of their goods on SmartWay qualified
carriers, their Mexican trucking companies will need to purchase
SmartWay technologies or participate in programs like the FAST
lane program.
BECC and the NADBank are developing a program whereby
attractive loan packages that can be offered to Mexican trucking
companies as a means to reducing emissions at border
crossings.
Thank You