'A bad idea': Combining border fence, levee could be environmental hazard

Rio Grande Valley environmental advocates are even more worried about a proposal to build levees that would double as a border barrier than they were about original plans to build a fence.

“Every environmental problem that was associated with the fence is the same or worse with this wall idea,” said Jim Chapman, president of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Group of the Sierra Club.

“We understand how it came about, but it’s a bad idea.”

Earlier this month, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff endorsed Hidalgo County’s proposal to build 22 miles of concrete levees on the Rio Grande, with some portions reaching as high as 18 feet. Chertoff said the reinforced-levee plan would protect the region against flooding and discourage illegal immigration without requiring property owners to give up their land.

Hidalgo County officials have called the plan a fair compromise.

“We’re trying to get a win-win situation developed for Hidalgo County,” said Godfrey Garza Jr., manager of Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 and floodplain administrator for the county.

The compromise, however, could endanger some of the region’s most fragile wildlife, said Martin Hagne, manager of Valley Nature Center in Weslaco.

“This levee will cut off any wildlife movement — 18 feet of solid concrete is pretty much impenetrable,” Hagne said.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials say they have been included in discussions about the levee-fence proposal, but only in recent weeks. Agency officials say they have concerns the concrete levee would prevent wildlife from migrating or accessing fresh water from the Rio Grande.

“Whether it’s a proposed fence or a proposed levee wall, wildlife still will have difficulty getting around it,” said Nancy Brown, public outreach specialist for the South Texas Refuge Complex, which encompasses . “The levee system … is going to be where the original fence was proposed, so the impacts are still very similar.”

Environmental groups said they’re also worried about plans to build a road on the levees’ south side, which might require clearing brush on land belonging to the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

“There’s more habitat and refuge land on the levees’ south side,” Chapman said.

The refuge consists of scattered parcels of land along 275 acres of the Rio Grande. Fish and Wildlife officials have estimated that 60 to 75 percent of the region’s refuge land could see direct or indirect impacts from a border fence, and that won’t change under this new proposal, Brown said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have met with Fish and Wildlife representatives to talk about environmental concerns, confirmed CBP spokesman Barry Morrissey.

“We are aware of some concerns with regard to migration (of wildlife), and we are working with our partners at Fish and Wildlife for possible mitigation,” Morrissey said.

The fence-levee proposal will be included in a final CBP draft of the border-fence project’s environmental assessment, Morrissey said. The assessment is required under the National Environmental Policy Act.

In November, the agency released a draft of the environmental impact statement — more than 530 pages worth — and then solicited public comments. The public will again be able to comment again once the final environmental-impact statement is released, Morrissey said.

Cameron County might soon adopt a plan similar to Hidalgo County’s levee-fence proposal if local funds can be gathered, said Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos.

“I believe something is going to be built, either way … all I’m trying to do is mitigate the intrusion while trying to address our levee problem,” Cascos said.

The U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission has said several Hidalgo County levees need to be raised or repaired to withstand a major flood.

Cameron County is set to soon hold a series of public meetings on the issue in coming weeks; environmental groups are welcome to attend.

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Melissa McEver covers health and environment issues for Valley Freedom Newspapers. She is based in Harlingen and you can reach her at (956) 430-6252.