The State of Arizona will continue to provide training for first responders of the State of Sonora. This will include training for Hazardous Materials Technicians and hazardous materials response training for maquiladoras.

Steps Taken: First Responder Operational (FRO) training for maquiladoras and bomberos in Hermosillo, Guaymas, and Ciudad Obregon was conducted in late 2012. Since Border 2012 activities are limited to within 100 kilometers of the border. Training was funded by the Arizona Division of Emergency Management, conducted by Arizona State University. On March 1-3, FRO training will be conducted in Santana. The other training session will be determined at the Border 2020 meeting at Rocky Point on March 21, 2013.

The Committee will solicit and coordinate the delivery of first responder and emergency management equipment donations, typically in conjunction with bi-national training. The Committee will conduct an outreach campaign to inform the first responders, emergency management and private sector communities of the Committee’s border activities which will be integrated into Arizona’s and Sonora’s agency websites.

Steps Taken: - A distribution ceremony for the donated items from Arizona will be held on April 12, 2013 in Hermosillo. Municipalities are invited to attend including Governor Padres of Sonora.

The States of Sonora and Arizona will promote the development of interoperable communications systems.

Steps Taken: The deployable Satellite Communications system (STACS) is near completion of construction; anticipate that will be available to be presented at the distribution ceremony on April 12, 2013.

The States of Sonora and Arizona will conduct a table-top exercise in conjunction with the summer 2013 AMC Plenary to promote the understanding of the impacts that emergencies and disasters have tourism, trade, real estate, etc. The Committee will identify a representative from each AMC Committee to jointly identify and discuss the impacts of emergencies and disasters in the border region.

Steps Taken: There will be an EPA Regional Response Meeting in Rio Rico on March 18-19, 2013. March 20, 2013 will be the Hazardous Materials Tabletop Exercise in Nogales, AZ. The exercise scenario will be a train derailment involving hazardous chemicals at the border. This exercise will practice the integration of Federal and State responses of Arizona and Sonora. Bi-weekly planning conference calls are held weekly. The Committee will send invites to the AMC pertinent Committee Chairs via Margie Emmerman to participate at the Tabletop Exercise.

The States of Sonora and Arizona will exchange State and local liaisons during emergencies and disasters to learn how each State operates and to develop the concept of a bi-national mutual aid response capability.

Steps Taken: Sonora and Arizona has identified Carlos Arias as the liaison from Sonora and Louis Chaboya as the liaison from Arizona. They would be deployed to the sister-state for significant emergency events.

Arizona will gather existing mitigation plans that identify threats and hazards to border communities; the information will be integrated to expand plans to include Sonoran communities and identify and prioritize hazard mitigation projects

Steps Taken: The plans have been gathered and the information is being analyzed relative to the threats to border communities.

The State of Sonora will research the protocols and methods that Arizona uses in gathering, storing and sharing industrial hazardous materials information and the feasibility of applying them to Sonora.

Steps Taken: The Arizona Emergency Response Commission (AZSERC) twice applied for a Border 2012 grant but was denied. The committee has brought up an idea to inquire if Sonora may be able to duplicate the reporting process using Microsoft Access database.

Arizona will identify authority, funding and indemnification for Arizona’s emergency units and personnel that respond to Sonoran communities.

Steps Taken: Status is pending until the Bi-national Mutual Aid Compact is federally approved.

Sonora will revise the Safety Law for Emergency Volunteers. Support will be asked to the Emergency Management Worktable of the Border Governors Conference, as well as from Federal Civil Protección Civil, to foment and make pressure for this legislation to be adopted by the State.

Steps Taken: The strategy to pursue this action is being developed. In the effort of both Sonora and Arizona to protect their volunteers crossing the borders to respond to incidents, the committee is seeking for state’s guidance in comparison to Santa Cruz County’s agreement across the border.

Arizona and Sonora will jointly develop an interactive website that will assist our families in developing family emergency plans and family emergency kits.

Steps Taken: ADEM’s attempt to hire a website developer did not materialize. The State of Arizona is switching to an open source web platform requiring the use of Drupal rather than SharePoint. This will affect the scope and completion time of the project.

Follow-up with the Emergency Management Worktable of the Border Governors Conference to advocate federal approval of the MOU signed by the Border Governors Conference to establish a Bi-National Mutual Aid Compact.

Steps Taken: The Committee remains in close contact with the California Emergency Management who is the BGC lead for this effort.

Follow-up with the Emergency Management Worktable of the Border Governors Conference to advocate federal approval of the MOU signed by the Border Governors Conference to establish a Bi-National Mutual Aid Compact.

Steps Taken: The Committee remains in close contact with the California Emergency Management who is the BGC lead for this effort.