Center for Biological Diversity filed a complaint against EPA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA has approved a plan which recognizes that Nogales, Arizona, would be meeting national health standards for dust control were it not for dust emanating in Mexico.
The plan was approved late last month by EPA Region 9 Administrator Jared Blumenfeld. It is hoped the decision will lead to more funding for both Nogales, Ariz., and Nogales, Sonora, to make further improvements in air quality by binational institutions like Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) and the North American Development Bank (NADBank).
“This plan is the result of a successful partnership among the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, EPA and the Arizona Department of Transportation to develop a comprehensive understanding of where the dust comes from and how weather conditions affect air quality in Nogales, Arizona,” said ADEQ Director Henry Darwin.
The plan approval also coincides with increased attention in Mexico to improve air quality in the border region. Mexico’s federal environmental regulatory authority, SEMARNAT, has committed to improving air quality in Nogales, Sonora, beginning in 2013 as part of the Border 2020 U.S.-Mexico Environmental Program.
ADEQ has been actively involved in work to improve air quality in the two cities such as identifying well-traveled dirt roads in Nogales, Sonora, that were later paved and education campaigns to reduce the amount of trash burned. ADEQ also has overseen the installation of more than 200 diesel emissions reduction devices on school buses in Arizona’s border counties and a number of diesel cargo trucks in Nogales that regularly transport produce across the international boundary.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed a complaint against EPA in April 2010 for failure to take final action on the Nogales Particulate Matter-10 plan. The EPA approved a plan revision based on a section of the federal Clean Air Act that attainment would be achieved “but for” emissions emanating from outside the United States.