Senator José Rodríguez receives Presidential appointment

EL PASO – Texas State Sen. José Rodríguez has been appointed by the White House to the 10-member Board of Directors for the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) and the North American Development Bank (NADB).

“I’m honored to be appointed by President Obama to serve on this very important body, and eager to get started,” Sen. Rodríguez said. “As many of us remember, BECC and NADB were created during the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) discussions in the 1990s. Communities along the border were concerned that increased trade would have unintended, negative consequences on the environment. The BECC and NADB provide one mechanism to address this issue.”

BECC and NADB were established in 1994 by the U.S. and Mexican governments for the purpose of developing, certifying and financing environmental infrastructure projects in the U.S.-Mexico border region to enhance environmental conditions and quality of life. Combined, they have almost 100 employees.

To date, NADB has contracted $2.4 billion in loans and grants for 206 BECC-certified infrastructure projects, which have been aimed at supplying safe drinking water, adequately treating wastewater, properly disposing of solid waste, and improving air quality through street paving and clean energy generation. Of note, NADB has helped increase wastewater treatment capacity by more than 275 million gallons per day (mgd) along both sides of the border. More recently, NADB has supported the development of renewable energy in the region through 22 projects, representing 1,301 megawatts (MW) of combined generation capacity; these projects are expected to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including the displacement of an estimated 2.11 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year. The total investment represented by these 206 projects exceeds $6.7 billion.

“I look forward to building on this impressive track record and helping to identify and fund key U.S.-Mexico border projects for our border communities, which are so culturally and economically intertwined,” Sen. Rodríguez said.

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José Rodríguez represents Texas Senate District 29, which includes the counties of El Paso, Hudspeth, Culberson, Jeff Davis, and Presidio. He represents both urban and rural constituencies, and more than 350 miles of the Texas-Mexico border. Senator Rodríguez currently serves as the Chairman of the Senate Hispanic Caucus, and is a member of the Senate Committees on Education; Health and Human Services; Veteran Affairs and Military Installations; Nominations; and Agriculture, Water, and Rural Affairs. 

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