Introduction

This is the final report for the Dos Laredos Project, funded from September 23, 2005 through November 30, 2008 by a $68,421 US EPA Border 2012 Grant.  Awarded to Texas State University-San Marcos and implemented by the Texas Stream Team Program (formerly Texas Watch), the grant supported reduction of NPS runoff and litter cleanup in the Texas-Coahuila-Nuevo Leon- Tamaulipas Border 2012 Region, with a specific emphasis on Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.  Project activities included volunteer water monitoring, Nonpoint Source (NPS) pollution source detection, litter pick up events and a forum on NPS pollution reduction.  These activities aligned with several priority Border 2012 Goals and Priority Areas in order to further the Border 2012 Mission:

“To protect the environment and public health in the U.S-Mexico border region, consistent with the principles of sustainable development.” (p.2 Border 2012 US-Mexico Environmental Program, EPA-160-R-03-001)

The Border 2012 Program, announced in September 2002, “emphasizes a bottom-up, regional approach, anticipating that local decision-making, priority-setting, and project implementation will best address environmental issues in the border region.” (p.5  Border 2012 US-Mexico Environmental Program, EPA-160-R-03-001 )  Recognizing Texas Stream Team’s leadership in pursuing this mission through its volunteer monitoring, watershed education and community action programs, Texas Stream Team’s key institutional partners, Texas State University-San Marcos (TxState), the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the US EPA Region 6 (EPA R-6), and the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) supported the development of the Dos Laredos Project in order to address the following Border 2012  Goals and Priority Areas:

GOAL 1: Reduce Water Contamination
OBJECTIVE 2    By 2012, assess significant shared and transboundary surface waters and achieve a majority of water quality standards currently being exceeded in those waters.

GOAL 3: Reduce Land Contamination
OBJECTIVE 1    By 2004, identify needs and develop an action plan to improve institutional and infrastructure capacity for waste management and pollution prevention as they pertain to hazardous and solid waste and toxic sub stances along the U.S.-Mexico border. Starting in 2005, the plan will be implemented and concluded by 2012.

GOAL 6: Improve Environmental Performance Through Compliance, Enforcement, Pollution Prevention, And Promotion Of Environmental Stewardship
OBJECTIVE 2    By 2006, determine the pollution sources in the border area that present high risks to human health and the environment that are subject to regulation and set priorities for actions to lower the risk.

Priority Area 1: Water – Assess and characterize water bodies. Promote data sharing.
Priority Area 2: Water – Reduce pollution to water bodies from non-point sources.
Priority Area 3: Hazardous and Solid Waste (Land) – Encourage environmental stewardship through organized solid waste cleanup events held at least annually.
Priority Area 4: Environmental Education/Community Based Projects – Conduct capacity building training for teachers and educators on effectively using field trips or hands-on programs for learning, which focus on water quality and pollution prevention.

Texas Stream Team (Stream Team), established in 1991 and widely recognized as Texas’s leading volunteer monitoring and watershed education program, offered Border 2012 strong institutional partnerships (as described above), an experienced staff, and comprehensive, proven monitoring and education programs, including school-based curriculum.  The Border 2012 Grant Program, through the Dos Laredos Project, not only supported expansion of Stream Team activities on the Texas-Mexico border, but also enhanced Stream Team’s effectiveness in priority Border 2012 areas by funding:

• translation of monitoring and education materials into Spanish
• collaboration with community cleanup programs such as Keep Laredo Beautiful (KLB)
• transboundary implementation of Stream Team activities
• local project coordination through the City of Laredo

These four project components expanded Stream Team’s standard approach to monitoring, education, and partnership by building the capacity of local partners in several ways.  Translated documents were essential in achieving a standardized approach to transboundary implementation of project activities.  Partnership with Keep Laredo Beautiful offered an expanded forum for communicating the project’s waste reduction and stewardship message.  Local coordination enhanced responsiveness to volunteer monitors, facilitated cross-border communication, assisted with project documentation, and provided general support and troubleshooting.  This report will show that these capacities, acquired through the Border 2012 Grant Program, along with the strong support of local and regional partners, have ensured the expanded and continued support of project activities beyond the life of the Dos Laredos Grant.

Project Overview

The remainder of this report summarizes the project background, key activities, background, tasks, deliverables, and resulting performance, including a general project chronology.  An overview of major accomplishments, problems or obstacles encountered and remedial action taken, lessons learned, and anticipated future activities concludes the report.