Undocumented Migration (UDM) Waste Program
The United States-Mexico border spans slightly over 1,950 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, with the Arizona portion being approximately 370 miles. For the Arizona-Mexico border, over 86 percent on the U.S. side of the border is administered by the federal government or Native Americans. Within 100 kilometers (62 miles) of the international border, the federal government or Native Americans administer more than 13.4 million acres or 62 percent of the land area. The state administers about 3.8 million acres or 18 percent and private land owners administer about 4.2 million acres or 20 percent.

Increasingly over the last 10 years, negative impacts on the environment caused by undocumented migrants crossing lands in Arizona and New Mexico were recognized by land management agencies, local governments, tribes and private landowners as a very serious and growing problem. The disposal of waste along trails is one of the most serious impacts. The many different landholders in the border region experience similar problems in dealing with this waste across their diverse jurisdictions. With no organized groups, beyond the efforts established under the recent Bureau of Land Management's federal assistance program, local governments and landowners tend to function independently, creating their own limited partnerships and solving their own problems to the degree possible. Some landholders receive significant amounts of financial and volunteer support, while others receive little or none. In general, very little formal cooperation takes place between the people that own and manage the lands of southern Arizona and the U.S. Border Patrol regarding UDM waste issues.

During initial stakeholder meetings, it has become apparent the heavy impacts caused by undocumented migrants are not restricted to the immediate border region of southeast Arizona. In fact, it has been observed that the areas being impacted change depending on pressures brought to bear on smuggling operations by the U.S. Border Patrol and other law enforcement agencies, and that increasingly more fragile and remote desert landscapes are being degraded. The problem is not only growing but also evolving over time.

An opportunity exists to develop collaborative efforts based upon mutually beneficial relationships between the diverse stakeholders and border region landholders, which are taking preliminary steps to address the problem. Such alliances are critical to cleanup operations being undertaken and sustained.

View the latest on the UDM related activities.

Arizona-Mexico International Green Organization or AMIGO
The Arizona-Mexico International Green Organization or AMIGO is a binational partnership for pollution prevention which is sponsored by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). This program creates partnerships leading to voluntary pollution prevention activities among industries located in the Arizona-Sonora border region. AMIGO brings industries in Arizona and Mexico together to share information and technologies that reduce waste and pollution while increasing profits, worker safety, and environmental health.

AMIGO Environmental Annual Award
The AMIGO Environmental Award was established to recognize partners who demonstrate leadership in implementing and supporting the goals of pollution prevention to reduce the amount and toxicity of hazardous waste and the use of toxic substances in the Arizona-Sonora border region. There are two award categories - process improvements and pollution prevention promotion. There are five evaluation criteria: environmental benefits, economic benefits, employee and community involvement, management commitment, and pollution prevention hierarchy, which highlights disposal as the least favored option. The evaluation committee selects award recipients, and is comprised of one representative from each of the following agencies: ADEQ, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Commission of Ecology and Sustainable Development for the state of Sonora (CEDES), and the Sonora Delegation Office of Mexico's Federal Attorney General for the Environment (PROFEPA).

The governors of Arizona and Sonora present the annual award to the selected recipients during the fall plenary session of the Arizona-Mexico Commission (AMC). The AMC is a public-private partnership whose mission is to improve the well-being and quality of life for residents of Arizona by promoting a strong, cooperative cross-border relationship.

AMIGO Accomplishments
Companies such as Bose, Motorola, Master Lock, Chamberlain, Becton-Dickinson, Alcatel-Lucent, and the Association of Environmental Professionals of Sonora, have spearheaded efforts to foster pollution prevention both within their industrial processes and in their communities. Some specific accomplishments by individual industries include pollution prevention seminars and environmental management systems training for over 3,500 employees, reducing the generation of paint waste by up to 1,700 gallons a year, eliminating lead emissions by replacing lead solder with an aqueous-based solder solution, and reducing the annual amount of waste sent to the landfill by 7,300 pounds.

Also, several of these companies partnered with municipal and academic institutions, and community volunteers to construct a fibercrete home. On Oct. 17, 2008, a dedication ceremony was held to present the first fibercrete home in Nogales, Sonora to the new owners, a single mother and her three children. Fibercrete, or papercrete, is a construction material that uses less concrete and sand as building components when mixed in with shredded paper to form blocks. This alternative building material reduces the amount of energy needed for heating and cooling because of its insulating nature, which reduces the need to burn wood for heating during the winter. This is important because a winter inversion layer affects air quality on both sides of the border. This project reduced the amount of paper and cardboard waste going to the local landfill by eight tons. Participants estimate that they saved 100 trees in the construction process. This number of trees can sequester 1,200 lbs. of carbon dioxide and generate 1,800 lbs. of oxygen annually.

Upcoming
Undocumented Migration (UDM) Waste Program

In January 2006, ADEQ proposed to bring together a broad-based stakeholders group to inventory border cleanup resources and to help develop a border-wide UDM waste cleanup strategy for Arizona. This stakeholder group also would provide advice regarding establishment of a UDM waste cleanup organization borderwide to help underpin this UDM strategy. The project envisioned, as an outgrowth of this strategy and, with the input of affected stakeholders at the local, state, federal and tribal levels, the establishment and strengthening of regional focus groups to design and implement a border region solid waste cleanup plan. Recognizing geographical and institutional differences within this broad region, stakeholder consultation was to be carried out in eastern (Cochise County), central (Santa Cruz and Pima counties and the Tohono O'odham Nation) and western (Yuma County) segments. From the outset ADEQ recognized that it was possible that this stakeholder process could result in complementary strategies for site specific sub-regions or land ownership. It was agreed that, as a means to strengthening the final products, all draft plans and strategies would be made available for review and comment.

As indicated above, to effectively address this UDM issue on an on-going basis, a candidate public/private organization would be identified through the project. The mission of this Undocumented Migration Waste Cleanup Organization would be to organize cleanup events by involving stakeholders, identify financial and labor resources to sustain ongoing efforts and implement Arizona's strategy based on knowledge gained from cleanup events. As an example of one key strategic element of this effort, and consistent with the governor of Arizona's statements at a 2006 tribal conference, ADEQ envisioned engaging the Arizona Department of Corrections to explore the potential use of inmate labor in border region cleanups.