1. TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018 | Austin
Air Quality Monitoring in Ciudad Juárez: A Case Study in Binational Collaboration
Partnering is the key to getting things done.’
I could spend hours discussing every one of the topics I’m going to cover today. I’m just going to give you a snapshot
Eddie Moderow
Border Affairs
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018 | Austin

2. TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018
Mexico City
Average Day
Bad Day
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018

3. TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018
A handy trick…
But what if you had to be sure or accurate?
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018

4. Take the guesswork out by using a thermometer
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018

5. September 2015: all monitoring stations were unplugged and offline
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018

6. TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018
August 2017: all monitoring stations refurbished, back online, and collecting data
Fix slide – add graph instead of table
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018

7. ACT I
History of the Paso del Norte and Air Quality Monitoring in the Area
Joint Advisory Committee | May 25, 2017

8. Map with 2010 Homicide Statistics
Joint Advisory Committee | May 25, 2017

9. Joint Advisory Committee | May 25, 2017
Sister Cities on the U.S.-Mexico Border:
population comparisons
Joint Advisory Committee | May 25, 2017

10. Joint Advisory Committee | May 25, 2017
Complex Topography
Joint Advisory Committee | May 25, 2017

11. In Juárez facing El Paso and Franklin Mountains
Joint Advisory Committee | May 25, 2017

12. Local Workgroups for Air Quality and Select Regulatory Guidance
Border 2020 Binational Environmental Program
Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) on the Improvement of Air Quality in the Paso del Norte
ProAire Chihuahua
State Implementation Plan (SIP) Texas
Joint Advisory Committee | May 25, 2017

13. Air Quality Monitors in the Paso del Norte

14. ACT II The Project: Restore Air Quality Monitoring in Ciudad Juárez
Joint Advisory Committee | May 25, 2017

15. City of El Paso letter
to EPA
April 2014

16. SEMARNAT letter
to TCEQ
September 2015

17. TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018
Project Partners
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018

18. Series of Binational Planning Calls - 2016
Participants (up to 20 per call):
Cities of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez
TCEQ Austin and El Paso
SEDUE Chihuahua
NMED Las Cruces
EPA El Paso, Dallas, and Washington DC
SEMARNAT Mexico City
Universities from Ciudad Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez, and Austin
Ysleta del Sur American Indian Tribe
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018

19. Air Quality Monitoring in Ciudad Juárez - Phase I - 2016
August 2016
Ciudad Juárez technicians visit TCEQ and Sutron Corporation
Photo taken October 1993 in Bandera, Texas at the EPA Region 6 Surface Water Quality Monitoring workshop, with two National Water Commission (CONAGUA) staff who sampled the Rio Grande in the Rio Grande Toxic Substances Study, funded by EPA.
One year later I showed this photo to the Mexican Federal Environmental Enforcement (PROFEPA) representative in Chihuahua, the late Pilar López Marco, who instantly recognized the woman on the right, “¡Lolita!” This cemented our work relationship and allowed the TNRCC (as we were called back then), EPA and PROFEPA to partner together in the first transboundary hazardous waste task force in the border. That’s how things get done in Mexico.
Today this would be called “transactional relationships.”
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018

20. TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018
Phase I Assessment
Photo taken October 1993 in Bandera, Texas at the EPA Region 6 Surface Water Quality Monitoring workshop, with two National Water Commission (CONAGUA) staff who sampled the Rio Grande in the Rio Grande Toxic Substances Study, funded by EPA.
One year later I showed this photo to the Mexican Federal Environmental Enforcement (PROFEPA) representative in Chihuahua, the late Pilar López Marco, who instantly recognized the woman on the right, “¡Lolita!” This cemented our work relationship and allowed the TNRCC (as we were called back then), EPA and PROFEPA to partner together in the first transboundary hazardous waste task force in the border. That’s how things get done in Mexico.
Today this would be called “transactional relationships.”
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018

21. TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018
Deliverable for Phase I in 2016
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018

22. Phase II
Photo taken October 1993 in Bandera, Texas at the EPA Region 6 Surface Water Quality Monitoring workshop, with two National Water Commission (CONAGUA) staff who sampled the Rio Grande in the Rio Grande Toxic Substances Study, funded by EPA.
One year later I showed this photo to the Mexican Federal Environmental Enforcement (PROFEPA) representative in Chihuahua, the late Pilar López Marco, who instantly recognized the woman on the right, “¡Lolita!” This cemented our work relationship and allowed the TNRCC (as we were called back then), EPA and PROFEPA to partner together in the first transboundary hazardous waste task force in the border. That’s how things get done in Mexico.
Today this would be called “transactional relationships.”
Rebuilding

23. TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018
Phase II Rebuilding
Four trips to Juárez to rebuild three stations
Purchased portable audit calibrator
Replaced pumps in CO and O3 monitors
Purchased new tanks of CO calibration gas
Rebuilt, calibrated, and tuned all equipment
Rebuilt and installed meteorological sensors
Purchased three months of consumables for network of PM monitors
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018

24. Deliverable for Phase II in 2017
Real-time air quality data:
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018

25. TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018
Phase III
Continue technical support in 2018
Replace data loggers
…and beyond
Create a sustainable binational funding mechanism
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018

26. Annual Operating Budget
Estimated budget for one-year operation and maintenance of three continuous sites and eight PM10 samplers
The stations (electricity, internet, maintenance)
Personnel (two FTEs)
Consumables (filters, motors, fleet vehicles and gasoline)
Data management (calibrations, validation, technical assistance)
$100k USD/year
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018

27. ACT III Why is this Important and the Consequences of Inaction
Joint Advisory Committee | May 25, 2017

28. Potential Health Impacts of Poor Air Quality
Stroke, heart disease, and lung cancer
Chronic and acute respiratory disease including asthma
Increased susceptibility to infection
Reduced lung function and cardiovascular disease
Decreased life expectancy
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018

29. Potential Economic Impacts of Poor Air Quality
What sources of pollution are responsible for the negative economic impacts?
Who’s emitting, where are the emissions, and what can be done to mitigate the negative impacts?
What’s the “social cost” per ton of a given pollutant
Knowing these answers the more likely regulatory impacts with have the intended effect
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018

30. Consequences of Inaction
Air pollution has no boundaries
Data from half the “bowl” is insufficient for effective modeling and planning
No knowledge of one-time exceedances or long-term trends
Cannot justify investments to protect air quality
No forecasting for vulnerable populations
Neither government nor academia have access to data to study local air quality phenomena
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference| May 16, 2018

31. Department of Vehicle Inspection and Air Quality of Ciudad Juárez
Joint Advisory Committee | May 25, 2017

32. The End
Air monitoring – take the guesswork out of protecting air quality
Joint Advisory Committee | May 25, 2017