U.S., Mexico monitor border pollution

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- A renewed agreement between the United States and Mexico will address pollution and environmental degradation along the shared border, the EPA said.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson met with her Mexican counterpart Juan Elvira Quesada in Washington for the signing of a border agreement.

"Addressing the environmental issues along the border has long been a priority we share with our colleagues in Mexico because we know that environmental degradation, pollution and the diseases they trigger don't stop at the national boundaries," Jackson said in a statement.

The agreement replaces a measure that expires at the end of the year. The program governing the shared 2,000-mile border aims to stem air, water and land pollution and improve general environmental stewardship.

It's the latest program implemented under a 1983 bilateral agreement. Achievements from the existing deal included the removal of more than 75 tons of obsolete pesticides and more than 12 million scrap tires discarded along border dump sites.

The renewed deal runs through 2020.