The ADEQ Office of Border Environmental Protection works with other organizations to address environmental issues in the U.S.-Mexico border area. The other agencies include the U.S.-Mexico Border 2012 Program administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mexico's Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), the Arizona-Mexico Commission administered by the state of Arizona and the state of Sonora, and the Border Governors Conference, which deals with issues affecting states on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

U.S. - Mexico Border 2012 Environmental Program

• Border 2012 Accomplishments Report (2010-2012)

The U.S.-Mexico Border 2012 Environmental Program (Border 2012) is a bi-national collaborative effort whose mission is to protect the environment and public health in the U.S.-Mexico border region in ways that are consistent with the principles of sustainable development. The national coordinators of Border 2012 are the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its Mexican counterpart, the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, SEMARNAT).

Through Border 2012, the Arizona-Sonora Regional work group promotes projects that address issues that affect communities along the Arizona-Sonora border. These are: air and water quality, waste management, emergency preparation, and children's environmental health. Five task forces to lead these efforts.

Co-chairs of the Arizona-Sonora Regional Workgroup are:

• Jeff Scott, Land Division Director, U.S. EPA: Region 9
• Henry Darwin, Director Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
• Oscar Tellez Leyva, Executive Commissioner of the State of Sonora's Commission of Ecology and Sustainable Development (Comisión de Ecología y Desarrollo Sustentable del Estado de Sonora, CEDES )
• Jorge A. Suilo Orozco, Federal Delegate for Sonora, Mexico’s Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT Delegación Sonora )

Arizona - Mexico Commission

The Arizona - Mexico Commission (AMC) is a cross-border nonprofit organization directed by the governor's office. Its goal is to improve the quality of life for Arizona residents by promoting a strong, cooperative relationship with Mexico and other Latin American countries through advocacy, trade, networking, and information.

The AMC and its Sonoran counterpart, the Sonora-Arizona Commission (Comisión Sonora - Arizona, CSA) have several bi-national committees, each of which has a public and private sector co-chair to represent each state. The AMC and CSA hold an annual summer meeting in Arizona and a fall meeting in Sonora. Committees develop action items during these sessions and report progress on a periodic basis to the governor's offices of Arizona and Sonora until the items are finished.

The Environment Committee aims to improve border area and regional environmental efforts by creating supporting action items. One example is the completion of a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and forecast for Sonora, based on Arizona's green house gas emissions inventory and forecast. This improves the declaration of cooperation that was signed between Arizona and Sonora on June 18, 2005 which established the Arizona - Sonora Regional Climate Change Initiative.

Arizona-Mexico Commission 2011 Plenary Session - Environment Committee June 3, 2011

• AMC 2012 Winter Catalyst (p 23) “Volunteers Establish Water Harvesting Demonstration Sites in the Border Region”
• AMC 2013 Summer Catalyst (p 8): “The Environment and Water Committee Lives Up to Its Name"
• Good Neighbor Environmental Board 15th (2012) Report (p 50):“Case Study: Ambos Nogales”
• A Roadmap for Protecting Binational Wastewater Quality - Water and Environment Committees, A Joint Action Item
• Reunión Acerca Coordinación en Monitoreo de Aire en la Frontera Sonora/Arizona: Revisión de Líneas de Acción Previas y Logros
• Renewable Energy: Opportunities and Challenges in the Border Region
• Green Border Cities: Stormwater Management Alternative for Ambos Nogales
• Proyecto Integral de Manejo de Residuos Solidos Urbanos Nogales, Sonora
• Arizona State Implementation Plans
• Avance del Programa de Ordenamiento Ecologico Territorial de Sonora (Poet-Son)
• Status of Ongoing Sanitation Projects in Ambos Nogales
• Marin-Herrera Water Award - Recipient Craig Tinney, Ph.D, P.E.
• AMC Environmental and Water Committees Action Item: Nogales Wastewater Characterization Report

Border Governors Conference (BGC)

The Border Governors Conference (BGC) is the largest bi-national venue to discuss and resolve some of the most important border issues affecting the United States and Mexico. The annual BGC meeting is held at alternating sites within the four U.S. and six Mexican border states. The chair of the BGC is the governor of the host state with the governor from one of the states of the other country serving as co-chair.

Similar to Arizona-Mexico Commission committees, the BGC is comprised of several worktables focused on specific areas, such as the environment. The worktables also are chaired by representatives of the host state and co-chaired by representatives of the other country. Each worktable proposes one or more joint declarations that the group will either focus on throughout the year or recommend for further discussion with federal counterparts by the ten governors of the U.S. Mexico border states.

The conclusion of a BGC results in a Joint Declaration Document that compiles the joint declarations developed by all the worktables.

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