Border Environment Cooperation Commission
The Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) headquartered in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, is a binational organization created in 1994 by the Federal Governments of the United States of America and Mexico under a side-agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). BECC along with its sister-institution the North American Development Bank (NADB), established by the same agreement and headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, USA, are charged with helping to improve the environmental conditions of the Mexico–United States border region in order to advance the well-being of residents in both nations. The scope of their mandate and the specific functions of each institution are defined in the agreement between the two governments (the “Charter”), as amended in August 2004.
Institutional functions
Both institutions fulfill an essential role in effectively applying binational policies and programs that support the sustainable development of environmental infrastructure on both sides of the US-Mexico border. BECC works in close coordination with NADB and other border stakeholders including federal, state, and local agencies, the private-sector and civil society to identify, develop, certify and implement environmental infrastructure projects in five key sectors: Water, Wastewater, Waste Management, Air Quality, as well as Clean and Efficient Energy. BECC focuses on the technical, environmental, and social aspects of project development, while NADB concentrates on project financing and oversight for project implementation. Both entities offer various types of technical assistance to support the development and long-term sustainability of these projects.
The Charter also establishes a single, ten-member Board of Directors to govern the two institutions. The binational Board has three representatives from each government, a representative of a border state from each country, and a representative of the general public who resides in the border region from each country. The chairmanship alternates between the U.S. and Mexico each year.
Project development and BECC certification
BECC’s project development process, which is ISO 9000-certified, is designed to meet a top-quality development standard for the broad spectrum of environmental infrastructure project types promoted by both public- and private-sector sponsors, taking into account industry standards, regulatory or funding-source requirements and specific sponsor needs. Projects may be submitted to BECC at varying levels of development, from concept to final design; therefore, the pending development requirements are determined on a project-by-project basis and the defined tasks directly influence the time and effort required to complete this process. In general, the process includes the tasks displayed in the flow diagram.
The development process must focus, not only on achieving certification, but also on assuring that a project is ready to be implemented. Key to this approach is the fact that BECC and NADB have adopted standardized operating procedures, and that project certification and financing approval occur at the same time. When necessary development tasks are complete, BECC is charged with verifying that a project is ready to be considered for certification and financing approval by evaluating these summarized requirements:
- General: Meets requirements for appropriate project type, location, legal authority, and purpose.
- Human Health and Environment: Preserves, protects and enhances human health and the environment, satisfies any environmental laws and addresses any anticipated cross-border effects.
- Technical Feasibility: Demonstrates technical feasibility by performing sufficient technology selection analyses, incorporating accepted industry design standards and showing that the selected technology matches the sponsor’s capacity to implement, operate and maintain the infrastructure.
- Financial Feasibility: Defines a viable financing structure and on-going fiscal requirements to implement the project, to operate and maintain the resulting infrastructure and to meet debt and reserve obligations for the short- and long-term.
- Public Participation: Ensures appropriate project information is made accessible to the public through formal and informal activities and encourages an interactive relationship between the project sponsor and those impacted by the project, aimed at inspiring community-based support.
- Sustainable Development: Addresses aspects such as operations and maintenance, building institutional capacity, eliminating risks that can threaten the long-term viability of a project, and increasing opportunities for greater well-being in the community
History
The BECC (and the NADB) were established by the Border Environment Cooperation Agreement of November 1993 (Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Mexican States Concerning the Establishment of a Border Environment Cooperation Commission and a North American Development Bank.)[1]
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Coordinates: 31°43′05″N 106°23′47″W / 31.717923°N 106.396495°W