OBP004764

From: (b) (6)

To: (b) (6) ; (b) (6) ; (b) (6) Self, Jeffrey D
Subject: FW: Meeting with Congressman Reyes- 3/21/08
Date: Friday, March 21, 2008 7:32:33 PM
Attachments: (b) (6)
Importance: High

Gentlemen,

Just in case you haven’t received the AAR.

Regards,
(b)
(6)

From: (b) (6)

Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 3:45 PM
To: (b) (6)
Cc: (b) (6) (b) (6) (b) (6) ; (b) (6) ;
(b) (6) ; (b) (6) (b) (6) ; (b) (6) (b) (6)
Subject: Meeting with Congressman Reyes- 3/21/08

(b) (6) ,

Please see that attached After Action Report (AAR) regarding the meeting with
Congressman Reyes. The report has also been included in plain text.

Take Care,

(b) (6)
Special Operations Supervisor
El Paso Sector
8901 Montana Avenue
El Paso, Texas 79925
(b) (6) Office
(b) (6) Cellular
(b) (6)

• On today’s date, Friday, March 21, 2008, at 0930 hours, a previously scheduled meeting
took place in the immediate border area with several high ranking VIPs. The location of
the meeting occurred at the Socorro Head Gates near the Zaragoza Port of Entry in El
Paso, Texas. The VIP members consisted of Congressman Silvestre Reyes of the 16th
Congressional District of Texas, his brother, Jesus Reyes, General Manager of the El
Paso County Water Improvement District (EPCWID) Al Blair Lead Engineer of the
EPCWID, Jeffrey Self, OBP SWB Division Chief, and Victor Manjarrez Jr., EPT Chief
Patrol Agent. Other individuals present on the line tour were, Salvador Payan,
Congressional Staffer (El Paso Office), Taylor Bingston Congressional Staffer
(Washington D.C. Office), OBP (b) (6) EPT (b) (6) and EPT
(b) (6)

• The purpose of the meeting was to identify a viable resolution to the fence alignment
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challenge associated with PF-225 Fencing Project K2 C. This particular fencing initiative
has been a problematic expanse of property owned by the EPWIDC. The property in
question is a 7.6 mile swath of terrain in the immediate border area that consists of an
IBWC Levee, a multi-purpose low water level canal, EPCWID irrigation check and valve
stations, an inner canal road, and a northern canal road that are both utilized by the
EPCWID for operation and maintenance purposes.

• The conundrum is that the EPCWID and the El Paso Sector Border Patrol have not been
able to achieve an agreement relative to fence alignment or placement. The
aforementioned agencies have negotiated for approximately four months and have
encountered an impasse. The meeting was focused on educating Congressman Reyes on
the difficulties of the terrain, existing infrastructure and present fence alignment solutions
from the EPCWID and the Border Patrol. The goal was to identify a fence alignment
location that would facilitate operational functions of both entities.

• The EPCWID and the Border Patrol have negotiated several different fence alignment
alternatives for the 7.6 miles. All proposals were not acceptable for one reason or another
by one or both parties. The proposals are as follows:
Fence Alignment south of the levee road
A free floating fence design on top of the levee road
Fence alignment on the north toe of the levee road
Shot-creting the multi-purpose low water level canal and placing the fence alignment
north of the levee road
Fence alignment on the northernmost and southern edge of the O&M road

• The EPCWID expressed concerns of the Border Patrol’s last proposal of fence placement
(southern edge of the northern most O&M road) due to inaccessibility to their
infrastructure, vegetation abatement requirements and restricted or interrupted water flow
to their customers. Ultimately, their final direction from their Board of Directors was to
place the fence on the south side of the levee road.

• The Border Patrol’s last fence proposal is to place the fence on the northernmost O&M
road’s southern edge. This alignment would satisfy the restricted access, vegetation
abatement and water interruption challenges previously echoed by the EPCWID. The
Border Patrol additionally agreed to control the vegetation abatement issue by use of a
negotiated contract for the 7.6 mile expanse. The Border Patrol discussed operational
requirements, community outreach, engineering components and environmental
considerations as the factors that govern our recommended fence alignment locations.

• Once Congressman Reyes digested this information he suggested the following:

Construct an 18’ concrete wall on the south toe of the levee road and raise the levee
road commensurate to the wall height. This design is being implemented in south
Texas within the Rio Grande Valley Sector
Congressman Reyes indicated he would seek additional funding for USIBWC to raise
their levee in the 7.6 mile area in question
Congressman Reyes indicated he would work in “relaxing” the time table of
completion for this project (December 31, 2008) and postponing the deadline to
factoring in the work associated with this design/build effort
Investigating the possibility of funding an emulsifying compound (road material) to the
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levee and O&M Roads to strengthen and withstand IBWC, EPCWID and Border Patrol
automobile traffic

• The 18’ wall and levee combination meets operational requirements for the EPCWID and
Border Patrol. IBWC will be approached with this concept in the immediate future.
Chief Manjarrez stressed the importance of continuing to negotiate with all key stake
holders to include the community but additionally stressed the importance of constructing
this section of fencing simultaneously with corresponding fencing projects. This area
must not be left unattended as a “gaping hole”.