Ribbon-cutting for the wastewater treatment plant in San Benito, Texas

San Benito, Texas - The City of San Benito, Texas, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony today to mark the completion of its new wastewater treatment plant, which is part of the city's Water and Wastewater Improvement Project and will benefit more than 28,000 area residents.

With this US$32.4 million project, certified by the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) in September 2002 and financed by the North American Development Bank (NADB), San Benito will have sufficient water treatment and storage capacity to meet demand through 2025 and will comply with state treatment and discharge standards.

San Benito Mayor Joe Hernández presided over the ceremony, along with Gilbert Tellez, representing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 Office, NADB Deputy Managing Director Héctor Camacho, and Arkelao López, BECC Director of Projects, as well as city commissioners and other local representatives.

NADB is providing a total of US$25.9 million in financing for the project: an US$8 million low-interest loan in the form of revenue bonds through its Low Interest Rate Lending Facility (LIRF), and a US$17.9 million grant from its EPA-funded Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF). Of the BEIF funds, US$14.9 million is allocated to construction, while the remaining US$3 million is being applied towards the project's debt service.

"It is important to acknowledge the vital role that EPA plays in funding water and wastewater projects for communities in the border region," stated Héctor Camacho in his remarks during the ceremony. "Thanks to EPA's support and the coordinated efforts of BECC, the Texas Water Development Board, NADB and the City of San Benito, local residents now have adequate infrastructure to meet future water treatment needs."

The certified project is divided into three main components, consisting of a new water treatment plant, a million-gallon elevated water storage tank and transmission line to convey treated water from the plant to the tank, and a 3.5 MGD wastewater treatment plant that will be used in conjunction with the existing lagoon system.

In Texas, BECC has certified 42 environmental infrastructure projects to date with an estimated construction cost of US$722 million, while NADB is supporting 37 of those projects with grants and loans totaling $207.2 million.

The Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) is an international organization established by the governments of the United States and Mexico that works to preserve, protect and enhance human health and the environment of the U.S.- Mexico border region, by strengthening cooperation among interested parties and supporting sustainable projects through a transparent binational process in close coordination with the North American Development Bank, federal, state and local agencies, the private sector and civil society.

The North American Development Bank is a financial institution established and capitalized in equal parts by the United States and Mexico for the purpose of financing environmental infrastructure projects along their common border. As a pioneer institution in its field, the Bank is working to develop integrated, sustainable and fiscally responsible projects with broad community support in a framework of close cooperation and coordination between Mexico and the United States.