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U.S. AND MEXICO REMOVE TIRES ON BORDER

Release Date: 12/6/1996
Contact Information: Paula Bruin, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1587

     (San Francisco)--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) today announced it will oversee the removal of approximately 1,500 to 2,000 tires that were illegally dumped nearly 10 years ago in Mexico near the U.S./Mexico border at Jacumba, Baja California.
 
     The cleanup involves coordination with U.S. EPA, the Mexican Procuraduria Federal de Proteccion al Ambiente (PROFEPA), the U.S. Customs, the U.S. Border patrol, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and San Diego County.  The Mexican Army will transfer the tires from Mexico to the United States to a point on the U.S. border, where U.S. officials will oversee the legal entry of the tires.  U.S. EPA is funding the cleanup in the United States.

     U.S. EPA and San Diego County have arranged for a contractor to load and transport the tires to a tire recyling facility in Holtville, Calif.  

     Arrangements for the cleanup were made under the direction of the California/Baja California La Paz subgroup for enforcement and hazardous waste, a regional workgroup created under the binational La Paz agreement.  The subgroup includes governmental agencies on both sides of the border that have responsibility for hazardous waste and enforcement issues in the border area.
       
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