San Diego, California — On Thursday, U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) joined Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Representatives Juan Vargas (D-Calif.-52), Scott Peters (D-Calif.-50), and Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.-25) to announce bicameral efforts to help combat the ongoing Tijuana River transboundary sewage pollution crisis. The Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act of 2024 is scheduled to be formally introduced when Congress resumes session next week.
In just the last five years, more than 100 billion gallons of toxic sewage, trash, and unmanaged stormwater have flowed across the United States-Mexico border into the Tijuana River Valley and neighboring communities, forcing long-lasting beach closures and creating significant negative impacts on water quality, public health, and the environment. Last year, sewage flowed across the border at the highest volume in a quarter century, exceeding 44 billion gallons. Earlier this week, the California legislature unanimously passed a resolution urging federal action to confront the Tijuana River sewage crisis, which has now closed local beaches for more than 1,000 days in a row.
The Tijuana River pollution crisis has disproportionately harmed underserved communities along San Diego’s southern border for decades. U.S. military personnel, border patrol agents, and the local environment and economy have also suffered harmful impacts from waterborne and airborne transboundary sewage flows.
The Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act of 2024 would designate the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the lead agency to coordinate all federal, state, Tribal, and local agencies to build and maintain critical infrastructure projects to address long-standing, systemic water infrastructure and pollution issues in the Tijuana River and New River watershed. The bill would also create a new Geographic Program within EPA to manage the watershed through a comprehensive water quality management plan. These provisions and other key components of the bill follow the findings and recommendations of the Government Accountability Office’s February 2020 Report, “International Boundary and Water Commission: Opportunities Exist to Address Water Quality Problems.”
“For too many years, the San Diego and border communities have been burdened by highly toxic waste and sewage,” said Senator Butler. “Although there is more work to be done, this legislation is a critical step towards reducing pollution and providing cleaner air and water in the Tijuana River Valley.”
“It should be an outrage to all of us that in 2024, raw sewage and toxic waste is shutting down public beaches, polluting the air, and threatening the health of our families and readiness of our military and border personnel,” said Senator Padilla. “By assigning the Environmental Protection Agency with the clear role of coordinating with federal, state, local, and Tribal leaders to maintain the health of the watershed, we’re bringing the full weight and commitment of the federal government to address the Tijuana River pollution crisis.”
“From terrible smells to closed beaches, toxic sewage pollution hurts our communities every single day. It’s important that we have a streamlined and effective federal response. But right now, there is no one agency in charge of addressing the pollution. There are too many cooks in the kitchen,” said Representative Vargas. “That’s why I’m glad to introduce the Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act alongside Senator Alex Padilla. This legislation would put the EPA in charge of coordinating with federal, state, and local agencies to respond to the sewage pollution, streamlining decision-making and strategic planning between agencies. We’re committed to working to combat this pollution and this bill is an important step towards that goal.”
“This is an environmental crisis, a public health crisis, and an economic crisis for San Diegans. The federal government should treat it as such,” said Representative Peters. “The legislation introduced today institutes a whole-of-government approach for resolving this crisis. This is the same type of program you see in the San Francisco Bay, Chesapeake Bay, and Great Lakes; San Diego is no less deserving.”
“The Border Quality Restoration Act is a vital first step toward addressing cross-border pollution in underserved communities,” said Representative Ruiz. “Cleaning up the New River will greatly improve the lives of residents in the Imperial Valley by protecting public health and ensuring cleaner water. These federal resources will help preserve our environment and restore one of the nation’s most polluted rivers.”
To address the long-standing issues, the Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act of 2024 would:
- Direct EPA, in coordination with relevant federal, state, Tribal, and local governments, to implement a comprehensive water quality management program for the Tijuana River and New River watersheds within 180 days;
- Require EPA and its partners to identify a consensus list of priority projects, including incorporating a comprehensive suite of projects identified by EPA and IBWC in the 2022 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement implementation plan, as well as the construction and operations and maintenance costs associated with them;
- Provide transfer authority to EPA to accept and distribute funds to federal, state, Tribal, and local partners to construct, operate, and maintain the identified priority projects;
- Provide technical assistance for restoration and protection activities to federal, state, Tribal, and local stakeholders;
- Codify the U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program (BWIP) to fund water infrastructure projects that benefit U.S. communities;
- Require the IBWC Commissioner to participate in the construction of projects identified in the Tijuana and New River comprehensive plans; and
- Authorize the IBWC to address stormwater quality and accept funding made available by the bill.
EPA currently administers 12 Geographic Programs that help protect local ecosystems through water quality improvement, ecosystem and habitat restoration, environmental education, and local capacity building. Establishing such a program for the Tijuana River and New River is important for the long-term improvement and monitoring of the watersheds during and after the expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP).
Since taking office, Senator Butler has made addressing the Tijuana River sewage pollution crisis a priority. After touring the U.S.-side wastewater treatment plan and convening a roundtable discussion with local, state, and federal leaders to assess the problem, Senator Butler directed her office to establish a monthly stakeholder working group to encourage regional coordination. In May of this year, Senator Butler wrote to Mexican Ambassador to the U.S., Esteban Moctezuma Barragán, and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, to emphasize the urgency of finding permanent solutions to address the sewage crisis. As part of a Congressional delegation to Mexico City in July, Senator Butler met with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum to urge both the current and incoming administrations to double down on efforts to eliminate cross-border sewage flows.
A one-pager on the bill is available HERE.
Full text of the bill is available HERE.
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