by Ana Maria Ruiz-Brown, Staff Writer-Translator
The Juárez City Council approved the expenditure of $1,500 U.S. to help pay for a research study which will investigate the environmental impact of the Sierra Blanca nuclear waste site. The Texas State Legislature has already invested $32 million to establish the low-level nuclear waste storage facility, which is located just 28 kilometers from the U.S.-Mexico border outside the village of Sierra Blanca in Hudspeth County. AGRA Earth & Environmental will conduct the scientific investigation for $20,000, the bulk of which will be paid by the City and County of El Paso.
The expenditure was suggested by José R. Rodriguez, municipal representative and member of Mexico's Green Party (Partido Verde Ecologista de Mexico, PVEM), and supported by Marta Adriana Duran Espinoza and Gerardo Soto Morillo of the National Action Party (PAN). AGRA Earth & Environmental conducted a similar study of the proposed Fort Hancock nuclear waste storage facility.
According to the Diario de Juárez, Rodríguez said, "At this moment, there are eight plants in the U.S., six of which have had problems. They've had leaks." He added that the plant is in violation of the U.S.-Mexico Peace Treaty of 1983, signed by then-Presidents Ronald Reagan and Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado, in which both countries agreed to "prevent, reduce and eliminate sources of contamination in their respective territories that can affect the border zone of the other" within 100 kilometers. Rodgríguez contends that many elements of the project have gone unstudied: the seismic activity in the area, the possibility of groundwater contamination. There have only been superficial studies, he said, but nothing concrete and scientific. He also noted that there is not any project similar to Sierra Blanca along the Canadian border. "All of them are on the Mexican border," he said.
Rodríguez is one of only two Mexican nationals named as eligible to file a civil suit in Texas State court against the project. (The other is Alberto Torres, a ranch owner in the affected area.) With the help of the PVEM and international lawyers, Rodgríguez says he will fight to stop the project, "otherwise our border will become a waste disposal."
The Sierra Blanca low-level nuclear waste facility already has the support of Mexico's Secretary of Environment, Fishing, and Natural Resources, Julia Carabias, according to the Diario de Juárez. U.S. supporters of the project hold that the facility would not contaminate the border and therefore does not violate the terms of the Treaty.
Sources: Diario de Juárez, El Norte de Ciudad Juárez
PROJECT DETECTS SERIOUS POLLUTION IN RIO GRANDE
by Ana Maria Ruiz-Brown, Staff Writer-Translator
"Projecto del Rio," a binational project involving 65 schools and 1,500 students from Colorado to Juárez, released a study July 7 that detailed serious contamination of the Rio Grande river (the Rio Bravo in Mexico). The study found that the river is polluted by both human and animal fecal bacteria at dangerous levels. A person swimming in the river, for example, can be infected by the bacterial organisms through the nose, mouth, ears, or cuts in the skin, and may contract typhoid fever, hepatitis, gastrointestinitus, and dysentery.
Other contimanants in the river include sediments, pesticides, and heavy metals, mostly originating from agricultural practices in New Mexico and the Valle de Juárez.
Projecto del Rio has just released their study in a book, "Water Quality in the Rio Bravo Valley: An Action Guide," which provides information on how people can improve the water quality of the river.
The U.S. office for Projecto del Rio is located in Las Cruces, New Mexico, at 505-522-7511. For information write to Projecto del Rio, 1494 South Solano, Las Cruces NM 88001.
Source: Diario de Juarez
WATER TREATMENT PLANTS TO BE BUILT IN JUAREZ
by Ana Maria Ruiz-Brown, Staff Writer-Translator
The city of Juárez will hold an open meeting August 7 to inform the public about the construction of two water treatment plants. The plants will cost $24 million U.S. to build.
José Mateos Torres, president of the Juárez Municipal Water and Sanitation Authority, said the project will follow guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Twenty-five percent of the project will be funded by the National Water Commission. Federal funds will cover more than 50% of the project, and the remainder will be paid for by the EPA.
Source: Diario de Juárez