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Applicants Sought For Rio Grande Citizens Forum Board

Laura Paskus, New Mexico In Depth

  The United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) is seeking applicants to serve on the Rio Grande Citizens Forum (RGCF) Board.  The purpose of the Citizens Forum is to promote the exchange of information between the USIBWC and the community about Commission projects and related activities between Percha Dam, NM and Ft. Quitman, TX.  

The Commission is responsible for applying the boundary and water treaties between the United States and Mexico and settling differences that arise in the application of the treaties. The Commission is the official entity that determines the location of the international boundary and demarcates the boundary by erecting and maintaining monuments along the land boundary and demarcation plaques and traffic buttons at the ports of entry.  In the greater El Paso, TX-Las Cruces, NM region, the USIBWC operates and maintains Rio Grande flood control levees, delivers Rio Grande water to Mexico, demarcates the international boundary, and performs water quality monitoring, among other activities.  Past meetings of the RGCF have addressed such issues as Rio Grande flood control, water supply, water quality, and clean-up of Asarco-related contamination on USIBWC lands.  The Commission also conducts various studies and engages in planning regarding water resources along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Citizens Forum is intended to bring together community members, enabling the early and continued two-way flow of information, concerns, values, and needs between the USIBWC and the general public, water users, environmentalists, government agencies, irrigation districts, municipalities, etc.  The Board will conduct regular public meetings, approximately four times per year, at alternating sites in El Paso and Las Cruces to discuss plans and issues related to ongoing and future USIBWC projects and related activities.

Applications are available at:www.ibwc.gov/Files/IBWC_Form_160_URG_011916.pdf. Application forms may also be requested from Public Affairs Assistant Shellie Muñoz, 915-832-4706,Shellie.Munoz@ibwc.gov.   Applications should be submitted or postmarked by February 16, 2016.  Board members to the Citizens Forum will be selected by the USIBWC in consideration of the agency’s interest in encouraging participation by diverse interests and individuals and organizations most likely to be directly affected by USIBWC activities.  Additional information about the USIBWC is available at: www.ibwc.gov.