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Funding aimed at reduced water pollution, recycling e-waste
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is awarding more than $8.6 million in grants to fund environmental improvement projects along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Water, waste, and environmental health concerns cross national boundaries, and environmental solutions benefit communities on both sides of our shared border,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “Border environment projects have already benefitted 8 million border residents, providing 63,000 homes with first-time drinking water service and 569,000 homes with first-time wastewater services.”
The EPA press released cited several border region projects:
- The EPA is providing $5 million for the construction of drinking water and wastewater infrastructure along the U.S.-Mexico border, including projects in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
- The city of Holtville, Calif. will receive $3.5 million to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant, with the objective to reduce ammonia pollution discharges into the Salton Sea.
- In partnership with Mexican federal, state, and local agencies, the Sonoran Institute, headquartered in Tucson, Ariz., will use $65,000 in EPA Border 2020 funds to clean and restore a segment of the New River in Mexicali, Baja Calif. and launch community environmental education and building efforts to prevent future illegal dumping and degradation in the river that flows north into California.
- Fundación Hélice, a non-profit environmental organization, will use $52,500 in EPA Border 2020 funds to address e-waste in an environmentally protective manner, diverting these electronic materials from landfills and dumps in Mexicali, Baja Calif., which could affect the New River watershed.
More information on Border 2020.