[Water_news] 5. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: AGENCIES, PROGRAMS, PEOPLE - 9/18/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

September 18, 2008

 

5. Agencies, Programs, People -

 

 

Press Release: International Boundary and Water Commission

United States Section

9/17/08

 

U.S. AND MEXICAN IBWC COMMISSIONERS PERISH

IN PLANE CRASH

 

On September 17 at 12:30 p.m. MDT searchers located aircraft wreckage in the Sierra Madre mountain range approximately 23 miles northwest of Presidio and 13 miles into Mexico.  We are deeply saddened to report that there were no survivors.  The wreckage has been confirmed to be that of an airplane on which U.S. Commissioner Carlos Marin and Mexican Commissioner Arturo Herrera of the International Boundary and Water Commission were passengers.

 

          At 10:00 a.m. MDT on Monday, September 15, the two Commissioners, Jake Brisbin, Jr., Executive Director of the Rio Grande Council of Governments, and the pilot, departed El Paso International Airport on a charter flight to Presidio, Texas.  Their flight plan also included a flyover of Luis Leon Dam in Mexico.   The Commissioners were traveling to the area to assess Rio Grande flood conditions at Presidio, Texas-Ojinaga, Chihuahua and to coordinate joint response efforts with local officials and the Mexican government. 

 

          Roberta S. Jacobson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, said, “All of us in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the Department of State are deeply saddened by the loss.  Our thoughts are with the families during this difficult time. Many of us have worked for years with Commissioner Marin, admiring his ability to bring people together across borders, commitment to the employees of the USIBWC and dedication to and understanding of the U.S.-Mexican border region.  We will greatly miss his expertise and gentle good humor.  Commissioner Marin exemplified the finest in public service. We also want to recognize the close collaboration between U.S. and Mexican authorities involved in the search efforts.”

 

          Commissioner Marin was appointed to his position by President George W. Bush in December 2006 after 27 years of service to the Commission.  As U.S. Commissioner, he oversaw employees and projects in 12 offices along the U.S.-Mexico border.  He also served previously as Deputy Commissioner and Principal Engineer of the Operations Department, among other positions during his lengthy career.  In his professional life, he played a lead role in Commission projects related to flood control, sanitation, boundary demarcation and mapping. Most recently, he concluded a binding agreement with Mexico, Minute No. 313, for improvements to the Rio Grande flood control project in the El Paso-Juarez Valley.

 

          Mr. Marin began his 32-year federal career at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, where he worked from 1975 to 1979 at offices in El Paso, Texas; Denver Colorado; and Las Vegas, Nevada, as a civil engineer trainee and as an engineer.  He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso in 1978.  Mr. Marin was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Waterworks Association, and the Colorado River Water Users Association. 

 

          He is survived by his wife, Rosa, and two adult children.  Marin was 54 years old.

 

          Arturo Herrera had served as Mexican Commissioner since 1989.  A Commission employee since 1982, he also held posts as the head of the Tijuana, Baja California office, Secretary, and Principal Engineer of the Mexican Section of the Commission.

 

A native of Mexico City, Mr. Herrera received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from the National Politechnical Institute in Mexico City; he also completed graduate work at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the University of Dresden in Germany.  He is survived by his wife, April, and two children.

 

Commissioner Marin and Commissioner Herrera were long-time IBWC colleagues and friends.  They devoted their lives to a common goal of furthering cooperation between the United States and Mexico on transboundary issues.  It is a measure of both Commissioners’ dedication and service they there working together to develop a bi-national solution to Rio Grande flood conditions when their lives were tragically cut short.

 

For more information:

 

Silvio Gonzalez

U.S. Consulate General Juarez

Phone number: Ph: 011-52-656-686-0272

011-52-656-686-0101

E-mail: pasjuarez@gmail.com; gonzalezsi@state.gov

 

 

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