Arizona’s two members of Congress who have districts along the U.S.-Mexico border reacted Tuesday to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security waiving laws to build a fence, as well as install surveillance and other equipment. The department wants to complete the fence by December.

The construction of the fence — north of the actual border on private and non-federal public land — has angered many along the Texas border, particularly in Brownsville where the president of the local community college has led protests against it.

U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., said Tuesday that not just environmental law, “but a total of 36 laws and rules, such as regulations on procurement, no longer exist in this heavy-handed action affecting people along the border from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico.”

“NEPA and these laws are not barriers to border security,” Grijalva added. “(Homeland Security Secretary Michael) Chertoff and (President) Bush might think they are inconvenient, but the course of history has proven the value of transparent consultation. People need to speak to alternatives and different designs and routes. This is a terrible process. In Texas, they are evoking eminent domain and seizing property. With the Tohono O’odham, if they are not careful, they will have a serious sovereignty issue on their hands.”

In 2007, Grijalva introduced the Borderlands Conservation and Security Act to require coordination between the DHS and tribal and federal land agencies on the border, saying the legislation could protect the environment and border security.

“Currently that act has 35 co-sponsors, and in two weeks we will hold hearings of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands on it in Brownsville (Texas),” he said. “I think this arrogant action can double the number of co-sponsors by that time.”

Should Grijalva’s bill pass, it could only impact DHS actions on public lands. “I don’t know what we can do in Congress regarding the private lands along the border,” he added.

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat who represents Cochise County in Congress, said Tuesday that “the secretary’s waiver announcement is outrageous.”

“My office was not consulted prior to the issuance of this waiver,” she said. “It also appears that no state or local elected officials in my district were consulted. Community groups were kept in the dark as well. This is unacceptable. Congress passed a law last year which contained a requirement that would ensure consultation with local officials and landowners before the waiver would be used. The spirit of this law was violated by today’s announcement.”

Giffords added, “We must balance the need for strong border security with the rights of private landowners and the potential environmental impacts that can result from the construction of a border fence.” Dick Kamp is Wick Communications Co.’s environmental liaison.