ESPs are comprehensive environmental plans, very similar in approach and content to traditional NEPA documents, that CBP prepared after the waiver to fulfill the DHS Secretary’s commitment to responsible environmental stewardship for fence construction. These plans were used during construction planning and implementation, applying the same standards and approaches as used without the waiver for stewardship of our valuable natural and cultural resources. CBP conducted natural and cultural resources surveys in construction areas along the Southwest Border to identify resources present, revise projects to avoid or minimize impacts to the extent practical, mitigate for impacts that cannot be avoided, and share the results with the public and other stakeholders in ESPs for primary pedestrian fence and vehicle fence projects. Through the development of the ESPs, CBP has actively sought input from resource agencies and the public, to include coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), SHPOs, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and other resource agencies.
ESPs have been developed and implemented for each border infrastructure segment project and Environmental Stewardship Summary Reports (ESSRs) are being developed to compare the final, completed environmental actions relative to the originally planned actions described in the ESPs.