U.S., Mexico Environment Chiefs Praise Joint Plans : Border: EPA says recent chemical leak in Mexicali wasn’t discussed. Mexico says it was a local problem.

During a brief meeting at a Kodak manufacturing plant here Friday, heads of the U.S. and Mexican environmental protection agencies exchanged effusive praise for the overseeing of economic progress along the border, and continued efforts to curry manufacturer support for tightening safety standards.

William Reilly, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Patricio Chirinos, head of Mexico’s Secretariat for Urban Development and Ecology, known by its Spanish acronym SEDUE, fielded reporters’ questions about a proposed waste incinerator at the border, a radioactive dump site and an improved system of monitoring hazardous material--projects that are being explored and have been debated heatedly.

The meeting came after a leak of hydrochloric acid fumes at a Mexicali chemical plant Sunday, which forced thousands of people to evacuate homes and businesses. Dozens were injured. Upon learning of the incident days later, EPA officials expressed dismay Thursday that SEDUE had not informed them earlier.

However, on Friday, Reilly and Chirinos made no reference to a communication problem. After the meeting, an EPA official responsible for following up reports of the leak said SEDUE determined that the incident posed no threat to people in the United States and therefore did not contact the EPA. The Quimica Organica de Mexico plant in Mexicali, where the leak occurred, is about 7 miles south of the border.

“It was a localized incident,” said Enrique Manzanilla, the EPA’s U.S.-Mexico border coordinator. “In SEDUE’s opinion, there wasn’t a significant level of concern.”

Manzanilla said Friday’s meeting had been scheduled before the accident.

Lack of communication has been a longstanding problem, both sides acknowledge. But the tone of Friday’s meeting was clearly meant to stay congenial as the officials spent much of the time bestowing credit on each another for innovative environmental programs.