A Senate subcommittee this week approved an amendment that would waive environmental laws for Customs and Border Patrol agents working within one hundred miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. This would include laws that currently protect the extremely limited water resources of this arid region. However, with desert waters drying up, and with much of what little remains facing severe contamination, many environmentalists are arguing that laws protecting this water should be strengthened, not ignored.
One major problem facing the water resources of the U.S.-Mexico border is that much of this water flows through both nations, while there is little in the way of binational cooperation among the two countries in the service of protecting it. As U.S. officials prepare unilaterally to put border water at risk, it is important not to forget that this water does not belong solely to any one political entity, but rather it is a binationally shared regional resource.
Two border waterways in particular exemplify the necessity of international cooperation for water preservation. The New River that flows through California and Baja California has been called the most polluted waterway in the U.S., the result of agricultural runoff, industrial waste and municipal pollution on both sides of the border. A frequent site for migrants to illegally cross into this country, the extreme contamination of the New River threatens not only these individuals but those they come in contact with throughout their journeys in the U.S. This is because many who wade through it become infected with water-bourne illnesses that are then passed onto others. Any unilateral attempt to clean the New River would be purely futile, as water cleaned up on one side of the border will simply flow into polluted waters on the other side.
The Colorado River as well flows between both countries. In both Arizona and Sonora, water from the Colorado is an extremely valuable resource. However, it is limited. In 1922, the U.S. and Mexico signed the Colorado River Compact, a document apportioning a certain amount of water resources to each nation. Today, as Arizona and California’s populations are growing and water resources are being depleted, there is uncertainty whether the border states will be able to continue to adhere to this pact. The result of failing to follow this agreement could mean damaging the Colorado River itself, but also contributing to a drought south of the border.
As the U.S. once again considers passing a law that could negatively impact natural resources not only in this country, but also in Mexico, it is important to remember that the border region is a shared land, and thus protecting it is a shared task. It is in the best interest of both nations’ populations, that decisions regarding the border environment be made through international cooperation. Otherwise, any efforts made on one side of the border could be easily voided by actions or inactions on the other side.
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