Mexico, U.S. officials remove border tunnel barrier

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A barrier put up by the U.S. Border Patrol in a storm-water tunnel beneath Nogales, Ariz. that was partially in Mexico has been torn down. The U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water Commission sent a crew to Nogales last week that organized a cross-border effort to remove the 3 1/2-foot concrete barrier and accompanying metal gate on Saturday, said spokeswoman Sally Spener. The only part of the structure still up is the top of the metal gate, no more than one foot, that needs to be taken out with a forklift, Spener said. Officials determined it was unsafe to send a forklift into the tunnel until the seasonal monsoon has ended, she said. She said the crew received help with the removal from the Mexican water and sanitation utility, the Fire Department and police in Nogales, Sonora; staff from the city of Nogales, Ariz.; and the Border Patrol. The Border Patrol was supposed to handle the removal of the barrier and gate but didn't get around to it quick enough, Spener said. "We had been urging that it be removed as soon as possible, and it became apparent during the course of our discussion with Border Patrol that it was going to be difficult for Border Patrol to get a contractor to do it," Spener said. "We just didn't want to wait any longer." On Aug. 8, representatives from the U.S. and Mexican sections of the International Boundary and Water Commission announced that nearly 8 feet of the 20-foot concrete barrier was in Mexico. At the time, Spener said the commission had informed the Border Patrol of the findings and that it must remove the barrier. Border Patrol officials have said putting part of it in Mexico was an honest mistake. On Aug. 21, Lloyd Easterling, Border Patrol spokesman in Washington, D.C., said the agency planned to wait for the conclusion of the monsoon to remove the barrier and that it was in the early stages of finding a contractor to do the work properly. The agency wanted to hire a contractor to make sure workers didn't cause any structural damage to the tunnel in removing the concrete barrier and gate, he said. The cost of the work has not been calculated, nor who will pay for what, Spener said. The removal of the barrier doesn't completely close the book on this saga. The U.S. section of the commission still must weigh in on whether it agrees the concrete barrier is to blame for flooding on July 12 that caused an estimated $8 million in damage in Nogales, Sonora. Officials with the Mexican section of the commission say technical data show the barrier reduced the flow of storm- water through the tunnel by 40 percent, causing the water to back up on the Mexican side of the tunnel and pressure the aging drainage structure, which broke. Mexico submitted a formal complaint against the United States for flood damage, asking for repairs or money. Spener said that the U.S. section is now in discussions with the Mexican section of the commission about the analysis, but that she didn't know when the results would be released. E-mail Brady McCombs at bmccombs(at)azstarnet.com.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)