TRANSBORDER WATER POLLUTION POLICY REQUIRES NEW LAW FOR GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS

Water pollution from industrial and human waste on the California Mexico Border--a serious concern in the past--has bubbled over into its current crisis situation today. Health and safety costs spill over onto local financially-strapped communities, such as Imperial County, California. This county must deal with the consequences stemming from the “dirtiest river in the United States” — a reference to The New River--which enters the U.S. from Mexico. While NAFTA has promoted the growth of industry in the region—economic progress has added to existing pollution. NAFTA’s environmental regulations, aid rather than hinder corporate default, and have weak enforcement mechanisms. The negative environmental impacts of NAFTA constitute hollowing of our nation’s democratically-derived environmental legislation. How can the U.S. deal with the issue? This paper offers three suggestions: an amended and tougher environmental law; biological solutions, and a careful application of the Kaldor-Hicks criterion of equity