Environmental assessment for the proposed SBInet Texas mobile project, Ysleta, Fabens, and Fort Hancock stations areas of operation, U.S. Border Patrol, El Paso sector, Texas

The Proposed Action is to construct, install, operate, and maintain a system of surveillance and communication towers, which complement vehicle mobile surveillance systems and unattended ground sensors (UGS), resulting in 12 fixed tower systems, 12 vehicle mobile surveillance systems, and the installation of UGS within the USBP Ysleta, Fabens, and Fort Hancock stations’ AOs. Vehicle mobile surveillance systems will utilize USBP vehicles retrofitted with technologies to allow USBP agents to receive or send information via the new towers. Nine of the 12 towers would be newly constructed while three of the 12 towers would be retrofits to existing towers located at USBP stations. These retrofits are fully assessed in this EA; however, the retrofits are considered to be environmentally benign due to the fact that the areas are currently disturbed and no further ground disturbance would occur. Access roads in and near the proposed towers would be constructed or improved as necessary. With the exception of a tower located off U.S. Highway 62/180, approximately 25 miles northeast of the Rio Grande, the proposed towers generally lie within a corridor between the Interstate 10 and the Rio Grande, in the Texas counties of El Paso and Hudspeth