News Releases from Region 09

U.S. EPA announces $327,000 for environmental projects along the California/Baja California border

Funds will help improve air quality monitoring, assess transboundary spill impacts and promote waste management initiatives

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded $326,776 in grants to fund four environmental projects in California and Baja California, along the U.S.-Mexico border. The projects aim to increase understanding of binational airshed data, assess transboundary wastewater spill impacts, improve waste management and reduce plastic bag pollution. The funds will be matched by an additional $318,813 from the recipient organizations. 

“These grants will fund projects designed to help mitigate health and environmental risks, advance economic development, and provide clean water and air for families living in the region,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

The University of Washington will receive $99,935 to assess and prioritize sources of particulate matter (PM) through the installation of six air quality monitors near the San Ysidro port of entry, the busiest land port of entry in the Western Hemisphere. The community air study project will increase knowledge of this binational airshed and provide information on emissions entering the U.S. from Mexico.

The Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego will receive $87,556 to study transboundary wastewater spill impacts along the Pacific coastline between Punta Bandera and Imperial Beach. The assessment will lead to more accurate and timely beach advisories and quantify the extent of the February 2017 wastewater spill in the San Diego/Tijuana region.  

An additional $139,285 will be awarded to two projects to prevent transboundary waste from entering the Pacific Ocean, Tijuana River Estuary and New River. These projects will increase the use of reusable bags, reduce plastic bag marine debris, promote recycling and improve waste management along the U.S.- Mexico border.

The funds were awarded in partnership with the North American Development Bank under the U.S.-Mexico Border 2020 environmental program. The projects selected address the goals of the Border 2020 Program, a binational effort to protect human health and the environment in the U.S.-Mexico border region.

For more information on the Border 2020 Program, please visit: www.epa.gov/border2020.

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