For Immediate
Release (Monday, October 12, 2007):
Contact:
Ken Kramer, 512-476-6962 (office) or 512-626-4204 (cell)
Cyrus Reed, 512-740-4086 (cell)
Donna Hoffman, 512-477-1729 (office) or 512-299-5776 (cell)
Sierra Club
Blasts Chertoff Border Wall Remarks
Comments Underscore Need
for Full Environmental Analysis
Statement of Ken Kramer, Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter Director
“My first reaction on reading Secretary Chertoff’s remarks was ‘Is this the level of environmental knowledge on which the federal government is making a decision about the pros and cons of a border wall?’ Chertoff’s comments just underscore the need for a comprehensive environmental impact statement on the whole border wall project along the U.S.-Mexico border.”
“Secretary Chertoff is making the same, tired arguments that have been disproven time and time again,” continued Kramer. “The people in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas understand the value of the wildlife corridor along the Rio Grande for both the environment and the ecotourism industry that is vital to the area’s prosperity.”
“Secretary Chertoff needs to spend time learning more about the significance of environmental concerns along the U.S.-Mexico border and about how the headlong rush to build a border wall is so potentially catastrophic to the environment and the economy of the border,” Kramer concluded. “While I appreciate the fact that the Secretary thus far is not completely waiving environmental assessment requirements of federal law in Texas, I hope that he will realize the limits of his environmental awareness and undertake a complete environmental analysis of the proposed border wall.”
For more information, contact:
Ken Kramer, 512-476-6962 (office) or 512-626-4204
(cell) Cyrus Reed, 512-740-4086 (cell) Donna Hoffman,
512-477-1729 (office) or 512-299-5776 (cell)
