U.S.-Mexico Border Program

The Border 2025  Emergency Preparedness and Response Goal  aims to protect air, water, and land from hazardous environmental emergencies. Emergency response efforts along the border are guided by the  Joint Mexico-U.S. Contingency Plan , chaired by Mexico's Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, Mexico's Civil Protection, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In this StoryMap, you can explore how:

• Cross-border Sister Cities ensure the health and safety of the people and the environment along the border

• Training and exercises build response capabilities along the border

• Border partners have worked together on hazardous material response efforts

Fifteen sets of neighboring Sister Cities sit on opposite sides of U.S.-Mexico Border and are home to more than 1 million people. Through the creation of tailored  emergency response plans , the Sister Cities work collaboratively to respond to hazardous incidents that may harm the air, land, water, and/or public health. These include releases of hazardous gases, liquids or wastes, and fires.

Sister Cities are in areas with higher population densities, which can come with increased industry, traffic, and pollution, putting vulnerable communities at risk. Researchers are analyzing and prioritizing regions based on factors such as population density, types of industry, transportation, and ecological factors.

Click the counties to explore population densities.

Border Program partners are furthering their capacity to respond to future hazardous environmental incidents through:

• Updates to cross-border notification procedures that incorporate new technologies
• Easing of the cross-border movement of emergency response equipment and personnel during active incidents
• Identification of areas with higher risk, based on previous incidents. When an incident occurs in the border region it is reported to the National Response Center, which aids in response, communication, and record keeping. Identifying higher risk areas can help predict, prepare for, and prevent future incidents.

This map displays the density of "Spill Report" calls placed to the National Response Center regarding hazardous material releases or environmental emergencies within the border region.

Zoom in and click to explore the location and nature of the emergency notifications.

Goal 4: Emergency Preparedness and Response focuses on training and improving capacities of response teams along the border. First responders participate in trainings and exercises across the border to learn best practices for responding to different types of incidents, build connections with their Sister City counterparts, and discover the latest technologies to maintain clear and direct connections during incidents.

Trainings and exercises are routinely sponsored by Border Program partners so first responders are informed about cross-border procedures. Topics include hazardous waste operations and emergency response, incident command, and evacuation and emergency planning.

The Border 2025 Program has supported the training and capacity-building of hundreds of responders in Sister Cities along the border.