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Environmental Regulation and the Border Table 2. Comparison of U.S. and Mexican Federal Standards Pollutant Symbol Units Carbon Monoxide Nitrogen Dioxide Particulate Matter Particulate Matter (CO) ppm* (NO 2) ppm* (PM 2.5) µg/m 3 (PM 10) µg/m 3 Ozone (O 3) ppm* Sulfur Dioxide (SO 2) ppm* Averaging Time Lead (Pb) µg/m 3 Calendar Quarter (b) Total Suspended Particles a) Not to be at or above the standard more than once per calendar year b) Not to be at or above the standard c) The three-year average of the annual 99th percentile for each monitor within an area d) The three-year average of the annual arithmetic mean concentrations at each monitor within an area e) The average of the annual four highest daily eight-hour maximums over a three-year period is not to be at or above the standard * ppm = parts per million ** Primary standards are adopted to protect public health and secondary standards to protect public welfare Sources: EPA; SEMARNAT 55 U.S. Federal Standards Primary Standards** Secondary Standards** Mexican Federal Standards General Standards 1 hr (a) 35.5 35.5 8 hr (a) 9.5 9.5 11 1 hr (a) 0.25 0.21 Annual Mean 0.054 0.054 24 hr (c) 66 66 3 yr Annual Average 15.1 15.1 24 hr (c) 150 150 150 Annual Mean (d) 50 50 50 1 hr (a) 0.125 0.125 0.11 8 hr (e) 0.085 0.085 3 hr (a) 0.55 24 hr (a) 0.145 0.13 Annual Mean 0.035 0.03 1.55 1.55 1.5 (TSP) µg/m 3 24 hr (a) 260
Improving Transboundary Air Quality with Binational Emission Reduction Credit Trading sources, for example, in Ciudad Juárez to aid El Paso in meeting U.S. PM 2.5 standards might be politically unpalatable to Mexican officials. Nevertheless, the broad consistency between U.S. and Mexican standards presents many opportunities for cooperation. Despite the similarity in air quality standards, enforcement efforts on the two sides of the border differ substantially. The United States has among the most strictly enforced environmental laws in the world. Under the 1990 amendments to CAAA, EPA need not even go to court when enforcing air quality standards because the law gives the agency the power to fine violators directly, much like a police officer giving traffic tickets. Penalties for violation were also increased under the 1990 amendments (EPA 2002c). The record on enforcement in Mexico is not stellar. For example, action against Mexico for failure to enforce LGEEPA in issuing a permit to Molymex, S.A., for expansion of its site in Cumpas, Sonora, continues before the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) (CEC 2003a). Molymex processes residual generated from copper smelting, an activity that potentially could have severe adverse effects on the local environment. Of course, Mexico’s failure to strictly enforce environmental laws is not surprising. As argued in the previous chapter (see box, page 28), low-income countries have limited resources. Often, pressing social needs such as education, potable water, and sewage will exhaust these resources, leaving little budget for enforcement of air quality standards. The consequence is that enforcement actions such as plant inspections often go undone. Unfortunately, this scenario appears to apply to Mexico. NAFTA AND THE BORDER ENVIRONMENT In the late 1980s, Canada, Mexico, and the United States began negotiations to form a free trade area that ultimately resulted in ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994. The negotiation brought environmental issues to the fore. Environmentalists opposed to free trade argued that the economic development arising from free trade would result in environmental degradation on the border. They argued that free trade would attract population to the border that could not be sustained by the sensitive 56
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THE SCERP MISSION The Southwest Con
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Authors SCERP Monograph Series, no.
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Published by San Diego State Univer
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Contents Foreword v Prefacio ix Pre
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Improving Transboundary Air Quality
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Prefacio “Si vale la pena tener u
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Prefacio pudiera ser difícil, cost
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I Introduction THE VIEW FROM EL PAS
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Introduction Resource Conservation
Page 26 and 27: Introduction approaches to correcti
Page 28 and 29: Introduction into the environment.
Page 30 and 31: Introduction maquiladoras, to hire
Page 32 and 33: Introduction (PM 10 and PM 2.5 )—
Page 34 and 35: Introduction installing scrubbers,
Page 36 and 37: Introduction The existence of emiss
Page 38 and 39: Introduction would require an initi
Page 40 and 41: Introduction EPE generated emission
Page 42 and 43: OVERVIEW Introduction This volume i
Page 44 and 45: II A Snapshot of the Border THE MEA
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Page 50 and 51: A Snapshot of the Border Interestin
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Page 64: A Snapshot of the Border THE ENVIRO
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Page 92 and 93: Appendix A Excerpts from the Border
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Designing a Transborder Trading Sch
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abatement activities, 4, 6-7, 16, 1
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automobile and truck, 47 banking, 2
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nitrogen oxide (NO x), 9-10, 16-18,
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