County inches closer to border wall construction

EDINBURG - Hidalgo County is closer to beginning construction of a border wall along 22 miles of its levee.

The county Commissioners' Court on Tuesday approved more than a dozen agreements with Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 to submit engineering designs for a border wall along portions of the levee to the federal government. Tuesday's vote is one of the last actions required before construction.

Next week, commissioners are expected to vote on an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to allow the county to be reimbursed for any local funding used for the project and act as catalyst for construction to begin.

County officials anticipated having to use part of the $100-million bond voters passed in November 2006 for the construction, but exactly how much wasn't immediately clear.

DHS spokeswoman Amy Kudwa declined to comment or speculate on next week's anticipated agreement with the county. All she would say is that "we look forward to working with Hidalgo on coming up with what we believe is a win-win."

Almost one year ago, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced the county's levees needed repairs. DHS announced the construction of the border fence designed to halt illegal immigration soon after.

It took nine months for local officials to convince the federal government to use a concrete, flood-control wall instead of a border fence. The wall will also help rehabilitate portions of the county's flood control system.

DHS is responsible for border fence construction but another federal agency, the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission, owns and maintains the flood protection system in the Rio Grande Valley.

The agency announced April 1 that it will use two waivers - one specifically for Hidalgo County - to bypass 30 laws and regulations so 267 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border fence could be built this year. The waivers largely sidestep environmental protections.

DHS is prohibited from releasing any funding for the local portion of the levee/border wall project until 15 days after the waivers are published in the Federal Register, the legal medium for recording and communicating rules and regulations established by the executive branch of the federal government. The waivers were posted April 8.

The county also approved agreements Tuesday to solicit construction bids to fix portions of the levee that will not contain a border wall.

Homeland Security has constructed nearly half of the total of 670 miles of fence along the southwest U.S. border in California and Arizona.

_____

Jackie Leatherman covers Hidalgo County government and general assignments at The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4424.