Rain washes away border fence, raises environmental concerns

Thursday, 08 September 2011 01:18

Photos by Kelsey Jensen.

A 40-foot segment of the border fence that runs along the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument at Lukeville, Ariz. was damaged when heavy rains caused flooding on Aug. 7.

"The fence acts as a dam and forms a gradual waterfall," Lee Baiza, superintendent of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, told the Arizona Daily Star. Baiza went on to explain that when rainwater collects enough debris, the water begins to back up and rise. "The higher it gets, the more force it has behind it," he said.

 This is not the first instance of rainwater turning into floodwater at the fence. After a storm in July 2008, floodwaters damaged merchandise at Gringo Pass, a nearby convenience store. Gringo Pass, Inc. filed a lawsuit against the builders of the fence, Kiewit Construction Co., for the damages, claiming that the fence was the cause of the flood and subsequently lowered the property value of their store by approximately $6 million.

The lawsuit was supported by a report submitted in August 2008 by Organ Pipe officials. In the report, concerns over flooding caused by the fence and its impact on the local environment were expressed.  Among the concerns cited in the report were: “The fence would impede the conveyance of floodwaters across the international boundary, debris carried by flash floods would be trapped by the fence, and backwater pooling would cause environmental damage.”

"The monetary estimate of the damage is still being determined," Jenny L. Burke,  a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman, said in an email. According to Burke, "a temporary fix has been put in place" but more permanent repairs will begin in the fall.

The wire mesh design of the fence is so small that it easily catches and collects trash, twigs, mud, and other debris whenever there is significant rainfall.  The fence was built with grate openings intended to allow trash and debris to wash through during storms to avoid flooding.  On a recent trip to the Lukeville port of entry site, we saw that trash and debris remained lodged in the wire mesh and at the base of the fence.

Controversy has surrounded the debate over the fence for years, not only by human and immigrant rights advocates, but also by environmentalists and wildlife advocates.

“The flood damage at Organ Pipe is another example of border wall boondogglery,” said Dan Millis, Borderlands Campaign representative for the Sierra Club.  “The Department of Homeland Security has wasted billions of dollars and ignored dozens of federal laws to build this heap of scrap that only causes problems and makes the U.S. look bad.”

 The Border Patrol found "no significant adverse effects to the natural or human environment” in its final environmental assessment and proceeded with construction of the fence.  In the assessment report, the Border Patrol stated that the pedestrian fence which runs through the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge “would also enhance protection of the remaining Refuge lands from illegal livestock grazing and pedestrian traffic.”  The report continues on to state that the implementation of the fence would mean the removal of certain plant species from the area.

 "Root causes of human migration need to be addressed if we’re ever going to find a solution to this issue,” Millis said.  “This border wall is an oversimplified, knee-jerk reaction to a complex problem,” he explained.

 Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is part of the National Park Service and was established in 1937.  OPCNM was created to preserve the Sonoran Desert, which is home to numerous animal species, including mountain lions, coyotes, deer, roadrunners, and a variety of bird and reptile species.  It is also home to 28 varieties of cactus, including the organ pipe cactus, characterized by its many spiky arms.  The park is the only place in the U.S. where one can see this cactus grow in abundance.

Six hundred forty nine miles of pedestrian and vehicle fencing have been completed along the Southwest Border as of March 4, 2011, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The 5.2-mile stretch of fence around Lukeville was built by Kiewit in 2007 and cost $21.3 million.

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