What's Behind A COVID-19 Spike In Imperial County

Speaker 1: 00:00 Contractors continue to install new barriers across the us Mexico border, including many across sensitive landscapes like riverbeds as Arizona. Public media is Ariana Brosius reports. While many nearby residents are disturbed by the walls, environmental effects, they say being ignored during the process has been equally disheartening Speaker 2: 00:22 in January. Hundreds of people gathered on a small bridge spanning the San Pedro river to protest the pending construction of a border barrier. Since then the project has moved ahead. Cottonwood trees have been cleared and construction crews are setting up even though us customs and border protection says a final design for the project. Still hasn't been approved. Local residents and conservation groups have repeatedly criticized the wall projects, but as the last free flowing river in Arizona, they say the San Pedro is in particular need of protection. Speaker 3: 00:56 None of these border walls make sense. That's what people need to understand. First about the border wall. Speaker 2: 01:00 That's Dan Millis with the Sierra club. He and others say the new 30 foot high steel bollard walls are ineffective and don't address the root causes of undocumented immigration or smuggling. Speaker 3: 01:11 And instead, the causal is a whole nother set of problems like erosion flooding, destroying wildlife migration, corridors, fragmenting, wildlife habitat, Speaker 2: 01:22 but while many have voiced similar concerns, there's another overarching element of their frustration. Speaker 3: 01:27 I did not even know that they were even going to be building the border wall until we read about it in the newspaper Speaker 2: 01:34 that's coachees County, supervisor and English, whose district encompasses much of the borderlands. She says customs and border protection. Hasn't provided any information to the County about the new border wall project, nor did it seek local expertise like how monsoon floods could damage it. Speaker 3: 01:50 This decision was made in Washington, D C no one was asked locally. They just did it. They found the money. They hired the contractors, and then they appeared on the scene. Speaker 2: 02:00 Usually government agencies are required to complete a thorough environmental study for a project of this magnitude, including a public review process. But the Trump administration has waived dozens of laws to speed border wall construction. Roger McManus is a retired biologist with the friends of Sonoran desert Speaker 3: 02:17 department of Homeland security is operating fundamentally outside of the law Speaker 2: 02:23 customs and border protection did solicit public comment a year ago for the first round of wall construction projects in Arizona, the agency declined an interview request for this story in a statement, CBP said it reviewed and responded to the public that provided input and incorporated relevant information into the design process. McMannis says his organization repeatedly tried to share scientific literature and expertise with CBP on how to mitigate wildlife impacts from border barriers. He also participated in the public comment process, Speaker 3: 02:53 but increasingly it is become clear that this is just a facade by the patrol, the border patrol, right? They're not really interested in this information. They're just doing it to deflect criticism. Speaker 2: 03:05 Even one local rancher. Who's had a good relationship with CBP says communication has dried up. As the projects have advanced Ben Lama. Lee is a borderlands hydrologist who used to work for a federal land agency. Speaker 3: 03:16 You know, you can talk about hydrologic damage. You can talk about ecological damage, but I think the biggest damage here was a loss of public trust. Speaker 2: 03:28 Like others Lomeli supports border security, but says walling off a perennial river. Like the San Pedro is just not a good idea. It could change the river's flows, lead to erosion and debris buildup. Speaker 3: 03:39 I'm looking at it as a tax payer and someone that cares about the future of America. And I'm thinking that we have much better ways to control that border Speaker 2: 03:51 customs and border protection says it's working on an environmental stewardship plan and is consulting with environmental firms during construction after months with no new details on the project design, the agency said last week, the barrier across the San Pedro will consist of a bridge with Gates and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. I'm Mariana [inaudible] in Tucson, Arizona.