NEWS

MISSION (KGBT) — A private company is clearing land along the Rio Grande to build a border fence, but the project could end before it really starts...

A non-profit called, We Build the Wall is funding the construction of 3.5 miles of border fence along the Rio Grande in Mission, but President of the organization, Brian Kolfage, said nothing will be going up until they have approval from the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC).

Kolfage said they have partnered up with Fisher Industries to construct the 18-foot fence. This is also the group's first project they are funding in the Valley.

"This will be the first border barrier that can be built in a flood plain and it's built to withstand the floods and there is nothing that [has] been built like it,” said Kolfage in a phone interview with CBS 4. “And I think it's going to change the way these border barriers are built in Texas."

Although the barrier is being built on private property, there are still some documents that need to be submitted to the IBWC to make sure the construction plan meets the requirement of the 1970 Boundary Treaty.

"Fisher Industries submitted about a week and a half ago or two weeks, the building plans, the site plans, all the construction details, the site maps and details of the barrier that we are building,” said Kolfage.

The IBWC confirmed in a statement, they are aware of the project:

We have received general project information from Fisher. We do not have enough information to determine if it meets the treaty requirements.

According to Kolfage, the IBWC requested for the hydrology studies.

"It's basically the impact, what this barrier will do for the community with the watershed and the flooding,” said Kolfage. “They want to ensure that the wall itself, well, it's not really a wall, it's a fence [that] it doesn't deflect the water or the flooding and it doesn't deflect the water to Mexico or our neighbors south.”

Kolfage said IBWC should receive the hydrology studies Tuesday.

If IBWC determines the project does not meet treaty requirements, they would notify Fisher Industries. If the company wants to proceed, they would need to modify the proposed project and resubmit.