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Border-wide Workgroup: Emergency Preparedness & Response

Annex II of the La Paz Agreement established a Joint Response Team (JRT). The JRT, co-chaired by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente (PROFEPA), includes U.S. and Mexico representatives from federal, state and local agencies responsible for emergency prevention, preparedness, and response in the border area. Annex II required the JRT to develop a Joint Contingency Plan (JCP) that established cooperative measures for preparing and responding to oil and hazardous substance incidents along the border, including emergency response planning, exercises, and training. The JCP provided the foundation for the fourteen Sister City Binational Emergency Response Plans that have been developed over the last several years.

The Role of the BWWG

Border 2012 created the Emergency Preparedness and Response Border-Wide Workgroup (BWWG) to coordinate and implement Border 2012's Goal #5 and its 3 objectives. The BWWG essentially functions as the Steering Committee of the Joint Response Team. The BWWG is comprised of representatives of Mexico's Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente (PROFEPA) and the Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil (Protección Civil), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Headquarters and EPA Regions 6 and 9.

Activities

  1. Periodically revise and update the binational notification system
  2. Finalize the revised Joint Contingency Plan (JCP)
  3. Facilitate US EPA and PROFEPA border crossings for emergency response incidents and binational training exercises through an interagency initiative with the US Customs and Border Protection's Trusted Traveler Program
  4. Organize and coordinate BWWG meetings

Documents:

Links:

Contact the Workgroup Co-chairs

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