JOINT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF AIR QUALITY
PASO DEL NORTE
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Establishment
of the Joint Advisory Committee
For
Improvement of Air Quality in the Paso del Norte Air Basin
In Spring 1993, the Paso del Norte Air Quality Task Force (PdNAQTF) was formed under the auspices of the Texas Air Control Board (TACB) as a means for citizens to take an active role in air quality improvement in the air basin.The Task Force, with the support of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), made the implementation of an "International Air Quality Management District (IAQMD)" their first priority.The idea was modeled after the South Coast Air Quality Management District in the Los Angeles, California area. The PdNAQTF believed that Paso del Norte air quality needed to be managed binationally and at the local level to achieve significant air quality improvements. The EDF drafted a proposed Annex VI to the La Paz Agreement in Summer 1993 outlining the concept of an IAQMD.As mentioned previously, the La Paz Agreement is the official mechanism through which the U.S. and México work cooperatively to address environmental issues in the border region.The IAQMD would encourage cooperation in monitoring networks, compliance activities, economic incentive programs, public outreach, and technology transfer.Under the draft language, international air pollution emissions trading was a possibility. At the La Paz National Coordinator's meeting in El Paso in March 1996 and after almost two years of discussions and negotiations, the U.S. and México agreed in principle on the wording for an agreement as Appendix 1 to Annex V of the La Paz Agreement.The two countries formally signed Appendix 1 in Mexico City on May 7, 1996 creating a Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) for Air Quality Improvement in the Cd. Juárez, Chih. / El Paso, TX / Doña Ana County, NM Air Basin.Although not an IAQMD as originally envisioned by the PdNAQTF, the JAC serves an oversight role in Paso del Norte air quality management. |
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This website is supported by a grant from the EPA to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of EPA, TCEQ or other Governmental Agencies in the U.S. or México.
Last December 7, 2005
This website is supported by a grant from the EPA to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of EPA, TCEQ or other Governmental Agencies in the U.S. or México.
Last December 7, 2005