美国国家公共电台 NPR Mexico Worries That A New Border Wall Will Worsen Flooding

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

President Trump¹ has kept up the pressure to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, though the administration now seems willing to wait until later this year so they can figure out where the funding for that wall is going to come from. But there may be another obstacle here.

Mexican engineers think construction of a massive barrier may violate a 47-year-old treaty on the shared waters of the Rio Grande. If Mexico protests, the fate of the wall could end up in an international court. NPR's John Burnett has this report.

JOHN BURNETT, BYLINE²: Mexico is watching with growing alarm as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security moves ahead with its plan to dramatically extend a border barrier that's already caused serious flooding. The 1970 Boundary Treaty lays out the precise border between the U.S. and Mexico and sets rules for the Riverside territories.

The treaty states both U.S. and Mexican officials on the International Boundary and Water Commission must agree if one side wants to build any structure that would affect the flow of the Rio Grande or its floodwaters. The U.S. has already built nearly 700 miles of security fence, and Mexico has consistently opposed it, says Antonio Rascon, chief engineer of the Mexican side of the commission.

ANTONIO RASCON: (Through interpreter) For us, were not in agreement with construction of a wall in the floodplain that affects the transborder flow of water. In general, we have been complaining about the fence since 1992. We're talking 25 years. That's when they installed the first fence in San Diego, and it's been advancing and advancing.

BURNETT: In its 128 years of existence, the Boundary and Water Commission or IBWC has tried to resolve differences quietly with professionalism and diplomacy³, but the bold plan for Trump's wall is straining that crossborder collegiality. With the earlier fence construction Mexico protested, the U.S. made some design modifications⁴ and the project moved ahead over Mexico's objections.

Homeland Security has not yet revealed what the new wall would look like or exactly where it would go, but some of the initial schematics - as high as 30 feet made of solid concrete - have prompted Mexico's side of the international commission to speak out for the first time to NPR. Rascon says Mexico will not stand for a treaty violation⁵.

RASCON: (Through interpreter) A concrete wall that blocks transborder water movement is a total obstruction⁶. If they plan that type of project, we will oppose it.

BURNETT: People familiar with river hydraulics say there's another way to understand a wall built in a floodplain. It acts like a dam. During torrential rains, these obstructions⁸ deflect⁹ water and worsen flooding. Stephen Mumme is a political science professor at Colorado State University who has studied U.S.-Mexico water diplomacy for nearly 40 years. He says concerns over floods on the border are well-founded.

STEPHEN MUMME: We have a history. We know they occur.

BURNETT: Over the past nine years, steel fencing along the Arizona-Mexico border has clogged¹⁰ with debris¹¹ during the summer monsoon¹² season. Floodwaters damaged Organ Pipe Cactus¹³ National Monument and coursed through the Lukeville, Ariz., port of entry. In the twin cities of Nogales in separate events, raging floodwaters killed two people, washed cars away, collapsed¹⁴ a section of the fence and caused millions in damages.

MUMME: It just walled up the water. It dammed up the water.

BURNETT: Even worse flooding is expected if the wall is built in the floodplain of the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Homeland Security has long wanted to put a fence along the river in Starr County, Texas, a favorite crossing spot for smugglers of drugs and people, says Border Patrol Chief Ron Vitiello.

RON VITIELLO: That was a place where we thought a barrier made sense.

BURNETT: Two things blocked the project in Starr County. Congressional funding ran out and the Mexican side of the Boundary Commission resisted a fence in the floodplain. Today Starr County is one of the first places on the 2,000-mile border where Trump's wall is expected to resume. Everything is ready to go. The government has been seizing land along the river by eminent¹⁵ domain¹⁶, and there are already blueprints¹⁷ where to build about 10 miles of fence. But Vitiello insists the U.S. will not bigfoot its Mexican neighbors.

VITIELLO: So if we go forward inside of the floodplain, then it will comply with our responsibility under the treaty.

BURNETT: Locals in this Starr County seat of Rio Grande City are not comforted by the government's assurances. What they're afraid of is a wall that would prevent the city from properly draining during, say, a hurricane blowing in from the Gulf¹⁸ of Mexico less than a hundred miles away. Gilbert Millan is the city's planning director. Alberto Perez is the city manager.

GILBERT MILLAN: The drainage system would obviously be impacted due to the dragging of debris from the water coming back to the riverbanks.

ALBERTO PEREZ: Or it might, you know, end up knocking down the wall because the water's got to get out of here somehow. And there's nowhere for that water to go when we have those floods.

BURNETT: At one point, the U.S. section of the Boundary and Water Commission sided with worried city officials and joined the Mexican section in opposing the Starr County wall. Then U.S. officials flipped¹⁹ 180 degrees.

SCOTT NICOL: And in early 2012, the U.S. section of IBWC said we respectfully disagree with our Mexican counterparts, and we approve these walls going up.

BURNETT: That's Scott Nicol, co-chair of the Rio Grande Valley Sierra Club. Nicol obtained through open records request thousands of federal documents that he shared with NPR. What they show is that U.S. officials changed their minds after being presented with a new plan for the Starr County border barrier that was commissioned by Homeland Security.

In an email to NPR, U.S. commissioner²⁰ Edward Drusina writes (reading) after careful consideration of the state-of-the-art hydraulic⁷ model, I concluded there was no significant reason to object to Homeland Security proceeding²¹ with the construction of the fence.

Others including Mexico's chief river engineer Antonio Rascon still are not convinced.

RASCON: (Through interpreter) We've seen lots of pressure by Homeland Security so that this project moves forward. By the kind of wall they're planning would have drastic effects on transborder water flows.

MUMME: I think that showdown is coming. This is supposed to go forward on a bi-national co-operative basis, and that's not happening.

BURNETT: Again, water diplomacy expert Stephen Mumme.

MUMME: Mexico is asserting a treaty right under the 1970 Boundary Treaty is more likely than ever because of the heightened nationalism and the indignation about the United States fence and wall project.

BURNETT: To protest the border wall, Mexican officials on the Boundary and Water Commission in Juarez, Mexico, would first lodge²² a formal complaint with their counterpart across the river in El Paso. If they don't resolve it, the dispute goes to the State Department and its Mexican equivalent and finally to arbitration²³ before a world court. Whether it gets that far may depend on how badly the United States wants to build Trump's wall in Starr County. John Burnett, NPR News, Rio Grande City, Texas.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

4 modifications   

n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变

参考例句：

• The engine was pulled apart for modifications and then reassembled. 发动机被拆开改型，然后再组装起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The original plan had undergone fairly extensive modifications. 原计划已经作了相当大的修改。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

6 obstruction   

n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物

参考例句：

• She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
• The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。

7 hydraulic   

adj.水力的；水压的，液压的；水力学的

参考例句：

• The boat has no fewer than five hydraulic pumps.这艘船配有不少于5个液压泵。
• A group of apprentics were operating the hydraulic press.一群学徒正在开动水压机。

8 obstructions   

n.障碍物( obstruction的名词复数 )；阻碍物；阻碍；阻挠

参考例句：

• The absence of obstructions is of course an idealization. 没有障碍物的情况当然是一种理想化的情况。 来自辞典例句
• These obstructions could take some weeks to clear from these canals. 这些障碍物可能要花几周时间才能从运河中清除掉。 来自辞典例句

9 deflect   

v.(使)偏斜，(使)偏离，(使)转向

参考例句：

• Never let a little problem deflect you.决不要因一点小问题就半途而废。
• They decided to deflect from the original plan.他们决定改变原计划。

10 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

11 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

12 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

13 cactus   

n.仙人掌

参考例句：

• It was the first year that the cactus had produced flowers.这是这棵仙人掌第一年开花。
• The giant cactus is the vegetable skycraper.高大的仙人掌是植物界巨人。

14 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

15 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

16 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

17 blueprints   

n.蓝图，设计图( blueprint的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Have the blueprints been worked out? 蓝图搞好了吗？ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• BluePrints description of a distributed component of the system design and best practice guidelines. BluePrints描述了一个分布式组件体系的最佳练习和设计指导方针。 来自互联网

18 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

19 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

20 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

21 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

22 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

23 arbitration   

n.调停，仲裁

参考例句：

• The wage disagreement is under arbitration.工资纠纷正在仲裁中。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding.双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。