Impact of border fence unknown
By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN Associated Press Writer

McALLEN (AP) - Rio Grande Valley elected officials and environmentalists wonder if they will know the full impact of the border fence before it is in their backyards now that the federal government has bypassed the law requiring detailed environmental study.

They waited months for a final environmental impact statement to be produced after extensive study of what lay in the fence's path.

Now the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says those studies will go on, but it does not have to produce a final report.

Members of the Texas Border Coalition were told in a conference call with federal officials Wednesday that they will not get the final report on the fence. Homeland Security said it would instead work from a draft study.

Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Fos- ter, chairman of the coalition, said they were told that some findings and mitigation studies would be made available to them, but not the comprehensive report required under the National Environmental Policy Act.

"What is it we don't want to show the world," Foster asked. "That makes one suspicious."

Congress has mandated that the Department of Homeland Security have 670 miles of fencing in place along the U.S.- Mexico border by the end of year to protect against terrorism and stem the tide of illegal immigration.

Last fall, the Department of Homeland Security released a massive draft environmental impact statement, with maps of possible fence routes and areas of environmental, historical and archaeological significance that would be studied in more detail for the final document. A public comment period followed when individuals, organizations and other government agencies submitted their concerns and suggestions for alternatives.

The National Environmental Policy Act was one of more than 30 laws Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced he was bypassing Tuesday.

The move away from an established process concerned border area officials and defenders of the environment.

In addition to detailing the fence's impact, the final environmental impact statement was supposed to show that alternatives were explored, Bernstein said. "We may never know at this point."

Amy Kudwa, a Homeland Security spokeswoman, said the agency had the draft environmental impact statement. "We will continue to work from that and will continue to move forward with environmental assessments." Kudwa did not know what information would be made public or when.

In a statement released Tuesday, Chertoff said his agency "is neither compromising its commitment to responsible environmental stewardship nor its commitment to solicit and respond to the needs of state, local and tribal governments, other agencies of the federal government and local residents."

McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez, who participated in the call, said, "They say one thing and then they back off it."

Cortez was left with the impression that "they (Homeland Security) felt that they had done sufficient work, that there were no significant concerns out there and they could move forward."

Federally-contracted archaeologists, wildlife experts and others have been conducting surveys along the fence's path since late last year.

Cortez said, "I think we have a right to see what the data says."

Under the Real ID Act, Congress gave Chertoff the authority to waive laws that impeded building the fence.

As of March 17, there were 309 miles of fencing in place. The waivers announced Tuesday cover about 470 miles of the border in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.